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Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions, was ridiculed on Sunday morning for calling David Haye the new Muhammad Ali. I didn't laugh. I think he's right.
I don't think he's got Ali's talent. Not even close. I don't even think that his victory over Nikolai Valuev on Saturday night proved that much.
It looked spectacular, certainly, but Valuev is far from being a great fighter. He is competent but that is about it. All he's really got going for him is his size.
In fact, his lumbering performance reminded me of a German newspaper's description of former England goalkeeper David Seaman when he had passed his prime.
"A piece of meat with eyes," the paper called him and that was what Valuev looked like as he tried to paw at Haye in Nuremberg like a forlorn grizzly bear. But none of that means that I am not a fan of the new WBA heavyweight champion of the world.
In fact, I agree with those who claim he could be the best thing that has happened to British boxing for some time.
He may not be as skilled a technician as our last heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, but he knocks him clean out when it comes to charisma.
We can say it now: Lennox was a nice bloke and a very fine boxer but he was dull.
Apart from two fights against Mike Tyson, one on a stage in New York City, one in a ring in Memphis, Tennessee, he never really caught the public's imagination.
But Haye's different. Haye's unpredictable. He shoots from the lip just like Ali did and he's liable to come out swinging from the first bell. He is like Ali in that he has a talent for controversy and upsetting people. If Ali was fighting now, maybe he would have worn a T-shirt with a picture of him holding up the severed head of a future opponent, just like Haye did.
That's opponent-baiting 21st century-style. What's the difference between Ali calling Sonny Liston "a big ugly bear" and Joe Frazier "an Uncle Tom" and Haye saying that Valuev smelled like a wet dog.
No difference at all. Except nearly half a century.
Haye might not be as gifted as Ali and the nature of our times means that he will never make the same social and political impact on our culture as Ali did.
But his charisma and his style mean that he could become the biggest box-office heavyweight fighter since Mike Tyson.
One thing in his favour is that the heavyweight division is desperately weak and short of star attractions.
The best fighters, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, are worthy but even more dull than Lewis was. They can't sell tickets in America. In fact, America's given up on them.
The sport, which is fighting a desperate rearguard action against the incursions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, badly needs someone like Haye to come through.
Suddenly, people like Schaefer and Don King have glimpsed a light at the end of the tunnel in Haye.
And so what if he doesn't have the talent of Ali? No one has the talent of Ali.
It doesn't mean that Haye cannot be the saviour of boxing. It doesn't mean that the time is right for him now. It doesn't mean that a particular set of circumstances have come together to create a situation where he can dominate the sport.
All he has to do now is beat the Klitschkos. Then we can really start to believe the hype.
I don't think he's got Ali's talent. Not even close. I don't even think that his victory over Nikolai Valuev on Saturday night proved that much.
It looked spectacular, certainly, but Valuev is far from being a great fighter. He is competent but that is about it. All he's really got going for him is his size.
In fact, his lumbering performance reminded me of a German newspaper's description of former England goalkeeper David Seaman when he had passed his prime.
"A piece of meat with eyes," the paper called him and that was what Valuev looked like as he tried to paw at Haye in Nuremberg like a forlorn grizzly bear. But none of that means that I am not a fan of the new WBA heavyweight champion of the world.
In fact, I agree with those who claim he could be the best thing that has happened to British boxing for some time.
He may not be as skilled a technician as our last heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, but he knocks him clean out when it comes to charisma.
We can say it now: Lennox was a nice bloke and a very fine boxer but he was dull.
Apart from two fights against Mike Tyson, one on a stage in New York City, one in a ring in Memphis, Tennessee, he never really caught the public's imagination.
But Haye's different. Haye's unpredictable. He shoots from the lip just like Ali did and he's liable to come out swinging from the first bell. He is like Ali in that he has a talent for controversy and upsetting people. If Ali was fighting now, maybe he would have worn a T-shirt with a picture of him holding up the severed head of a future opponent, just like Haye did.
That's opponent-baiting 21st century-style. What's the difference between Ali calling Sonny Liston "a big ugly bear" and Joe Frazier "an Uncle Tom" and Haye saying that Valuev smelled like a wet dog.
No difference at all. Except nearly half a century.
Haye might not be as gifted as Ali and the nature of our times means that he will never make the same social and political impact on our culture as Ali did.
But his charisma and his style mean that he could become the biggest box-office heavyweight fighter since Mike Tyson.
One thing in his favour is that the heavyweight division is desperately weak and short of star attractions.
The best fighters, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, are worthy but even more dull than Lewis was. They can't sell tickets in America. In fact, America's given up on them.
The sport, which is fighting a desperate rearguard action against the incursions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, badly needs someone like Haye to come through.
Suddenly, people like Schaefer and Don King have glimpsed a light at the end of the tunnel in Haye.
And so what if he doesn't have the talent of Ali? No one has the talent of Ali.
It doesn't mean that Haye cannot be the saviour of boxing. It doesn't mean that the time is right for him now. It doesn't mean that a particular set of circumstances have come together to create a situation where he can dominate the sport.
All he has to do now is beat the Klitschkos. Then we can really start to believe the hype.
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