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Back in June, David Haye’s projected challenge to Wladimir Klitschko was due to be aired on the Setanta network here in the UK; many believe that Haye was in with a chance in that one but it was not to be, Haye withdrew from the fight due to a back injury and had to wait for his title chance to come around. Steve Bunce, who hosted a weekly boxing show on the network, believes that, had things not gone to the wall, Haye would have eventually been crowned on Setanta, either in an rearranged dust-up with Wladimir or the tussle with Nikolai Valuev. [details]
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These claims I keep reading that 'everyone knew Haye-Valuev was going to be that kind of fight' are wide of the mark.
I read several fight previews, and the majority of journalists and fans did not expect Haye to fight that way and to throw so few punches.
You can defend it if you want, but don't rewrite history and say everyone was expecting that kind of performance beforehand. Many fans were unhappy with the show he put on.
As for his comments on Chad Dawson, my understanding is that neither Calzaghe or Hopkins even came close to negotiating with him, so the argument that he's not reasonable when trying to get a fight with the big names...I just don't believe that. To the best of my knowledge, neither Calzaghe or Hopkins have ever claimed that they tried to fight Chad but that he asked for too much money.
He mentions the fights that Bernard had in the past, but forgets that there were other fights (Calzaghe 5ish years ago, a Roy rematch) that Hopkins didn't accept/find an agreement with. Now maybe you could argue that Hopkins was justified in not taking the offers, maybe there wasn't enough money on the table or the weight was too high or whatever. But don't try to act as if Hopkins is an angel to negotiate with and Chad is being greedy. The facts don't support that. -
Boxing should be on the beeb.
Bunce is right, British people actually really like boxing. Which is why our Olympic Boxers are always one of the star attractions of any olympic campaign. Put it on and people will watch, and if it is a big fight, they will watch in their millions.
Boxing is only a fringe sport because of the coverage it recieves.
David Haye is massive for British Boxing, absolutely massive. Here we have a charasmatic and eloquent and it has to be said good-looking man to represent our sport. BBC were on his bandwagon early and leapt off like idiots, it's time to rethink that.Comment
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I'm American, but find Bunce to be a very colorful character. He's great for boxing and I hope you Brits keep the popularity of the sport going in your country.
You do have some fine talent coming up; I see no reason why someone like Haye isn't huge over there.Comment
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