David Haye - The boxer

Haye showed good movement and defence but should have thrown more punches. He also showed when he did open up that he has big power at heavyweight.

Only on a boxing forum, will a show of such athleticism and boxing mind (in the heavyweight division of all things which is usually just fat guys standing, hitting and hugging each other), be looked down upon by clueless goons who care/know more about hanging from the nuts of their favourite fighter than they do about the actual sport.

Did Haye duck Wladamir and Vitali? Haye was injured while training for Wlad, he asked for the fight to be pushed back, Wlad said no. Haye and Vitali hadn't even signed a contract, they were in talks. Haye has a belt now he will be looking to unify soon, Wlad has no where to run :P

Haye could have knocked out Valuev..But overall I think he did OK

I think haye boxed very intelligently and showed good skills and considering the weight and height advantage it would have been silly to box any other way,I had haye winning by a few rounds.Valuev kept walking forward all night but landed very few in the way of clean punches.Also i think the fact that haye broke his hand quite early on in the fight makes the win even more impresive.

Haye missed dozens and dozens of countering opportunities. I'd hardly call it a Mayweather-esque performance.

You are a complete and utter idiot. Did Haye duck Wladamir and Vitali?

Duck the real champ Wlad than fight Valuev and then run for his life then act like a real champ after. You are a complete and utter idiot.

wow, are you serious?Duck the real champ Wlad than fight Valuev and then run for his life then act like a real champ after.

Me too, I felt an almost certain Valuev decision even if Haye won by 6 rounds, the judges must not have been german :lol1: Knowing Germany I was worried - until Haye closed the show final rounds

The performance was a bit of a suprise to me but nowhere near as much of a suprise as the judges scorecards like! Can't believe they gave the right decision!! Me too, I felt an almost certain Valuev decision even if Haye won by 6 rounds, the judges must not have been german :lol1:

Haye was sweet last night

Haye promised much in the build up to the Valuev fight, one promise being to knock Valuev out. However, the reality inside of the ring didn't reflect the boasts and predictions made outside of it. Instead of the spectacular knockout pledged beforehand, Haye delivered a boxing masterclass that answered more questions than it raised. Fighting a 7+ foot giant of a man, who weighs 100 pounds more than yourself is never going to be easy, but for the most part Haye made it look like childs play. His gameplan was perfect. If there are doubts about your punch resistance and stamina issues, there is a simple way to negate them...don't get hit, and don't dispence with wasteful punches that drain your energy. Use your footwork and head movement to dodge punches and avoid being trapped on the ropes, and only strike when the opportunity arises. For 99% of the fight, Haye stuck to these tactics, and made very few mistakes. Many people didn't believe that Haye had the patience or the schooling to fight in a calculated, and intellectual manner, which makes the manner of his victory much more impressive than a KO win. We already know that Haye can punch, but last night he proved that he can box pretty well too. Some uninformed and hateful posters, who frankly don't know anything about boxing, may call his performance uninspiring and unexicting, but the truth is, you can't look good against Valuev. Holyfield even said that the perfect gameplan to beat Valuev is a boring one. There may be a case that Chagaev and Holyfield performed better in their respective fights against Valuev than Haye did, but neither of those fighters had to accommodate a weak chin into their fight equations. It's easy to stand in front of the man opposite yourself and wing in punches when you don't have to worry about being knocked out. You have to remember that Haye has been hurt against much lesser fighters than Valuev. To stand and trade with such a beast, would have been suicide. Finally, if you are criticising Haye for not engaging enough, and are now calling him "boring", watch the other 22 or so fights in his career where he is knocking out guys left right and centre, then come back and call him "boring". First and foremost boxing is about winning. Sometimes you can't take risks and you have to do what you have to do. This is especially true when the guy you are fighting is 7 foot tall. Haye did what he had to do, became the first man to hurt Valuev, and thus proved he is a top heavyweight and a force to be reckoned with. He has the skills, he has the speed, he has the power, and he has the mouth to set alight the heavyweight division again. I'm looking forward to it. iv followed hayes career for a while now and i think alot of people don't see this side to him. haye first showed that he could box intelligently when he fought ismail abdoul, in that fight haye did enough to win the rounds and got the decision. last night he did the same thing, easing off once he had won the round, not giving the other guy mistakes to capitalise on and not doing anything reckless. imo though i think haye was forced to do this becauseof the broken right hand, if he hadn't broke it i think he would have thrown more punches.

Haye proved he could box for 12 rounds. His stamina wasn't really tested though because his workrate was awful.

Hayes the biggest fraud in all of boxing. wow, are you serious?

This fight is what I was expecting Haye to do, because there is no way that he could of stood toe to toe with him, yeah he said some crazy stuff like he will knock him out, well at one point to nearly put him on his arse anyway! David Haye deserved the victory because like you said Valuev was given credit for punches that didn't even connect with Haye.

All of Valuev's fights are like this. If the Klitschkos and Valuev fought, it would have been a SNOOZEFEST. At least Haye staggered him. Who has done that to Valuev? A guy who is a 100 lbs more than you and a foot taller than you?

Hayes the biggest fraud in all of boxing.

Good post. If I had green K to give you I would. I really can't see the argument for this fight being even that close. I thought the two judges who scored it for Haye got it perfectly at 116 - 112 (or in rounds: 8 - 4). Haye executed his gameplan to near perfection and Valuev hit mostly air. Reading one of the articles right here on Boxing Scene, I get the impression Valuev was given credit for jabs that missed or grazed and his plodding forward.

Hey, he did make Valuev stumble around, Haye did what he had to do. He will definitely fight more excitingly against a Klitschko.