Wladimir KLITSCHKO Vs. David HAYE: Who Do You Pick?

[Calderownz]

The big World Heavyweight unification showdown is tomorrow. It's happening at 1:45PM on HBO tomorrow. (Early start, since the fight is in Germany.)

Both men in good shape and in their primes. The Heavyweight division needs at least that and we'd love to have a great fight go along with it.

So, who do you got winning? David Haye? Wladimir Klitschko? Your thoughts?

Vote and discuss.

For those interested, by the way, here is the weigh-in:
http://youtu.be/Y-IezKRfLF8

 

[jmt225]

Wladimir Klitschko is going to win by decision in one of the most incredibly disappointing fights in boxing history.

Haye's mouth has been able to make this bout the biggest Heavyweight fight in YEARS for boxing. However, he doesn't stand a chance. Wlad will jab him to death and Haye will not land one decent shot. Mark my words on that.

Haye has incredible speed and athleticism for a Heavyweight, and he's far superior to Wald in both aspects, but regardless... Wlad has the brains and experience, and the guy simply knows how to win without getting hurt. And he will not once in this fight RISK getting hurt. He'll jab, jab, and jab some more, until finally the 12th Round ends and his hand gets raised after a unanimous decision victory.

Props to Haye for actually finally fighting a Klitschko, but unfortunately for him, this fight will perhaps be the end of his drawing career. I actually HOPE Haye wins just for the sake of Heavyweight boxing, but it's not happening.

 

[Loveless]

My suspicion about both these fighters is that they're not as good as they appear to be. Wlad is a robot, jab jab jab, win on points and I don't think he has ever fought a quality fighter. Haye on the other hand is a glorified cruiserweight and while he's got the skills, I don't think he has faced a quality heavyweight either and I'm suspect of his chin
This fight will really depend on the first 4 rounds. Haye has got 4 opening rounds to catch Wlad with a decent punch and give himself an easier job later on. If he doesn't land that punch, he can forget winning. Haye will absolutely not win on points with these judges and Wlad will simply wear him down in the later rounds if he hasn't be previously stunned.
My prediction is fairly simple. Haye will keep his distance, Wlad will simply wait for him and defend and the early rounds will be fairly boring. Around 8-10 a tired Haye will dash in, finally get caught by a club and that'll be the end of it.

 

[Барбоса]

Once David Haye watches a recording of last night's fight in Hamburg, not only will be cringe at the amount of time he spent talking about his broken toe, he will also see what an opportunity he missed.

While Klitschko was always going to follow his normal, effective gameplan of working behind the jab, the same weakness of him leaving his chin out there was also present. Had Haye gone for it rather than being surprisingly over-cautious, I think he could have caused Wlad some real problems. Indeed, the two times that he did go after the Ukrainian, in the 3rd and 12 rounds, he rocked the big man. I'm not saying that he could have knocked him out but a more adverturous Haye, while risking getting caught, certainly would not have lost by so many rounds.

Unfortunately, what ifs are all the Haye camp is left with as I very much doubt that Wladimir will give him a rematch

 

[Dave]

How very, very disappointing this one turned out to be.

David Haye, as much as he trash talks, is one of the most charismatic fighters in sport today and he really manages to suck me into his fights. I have been a fan of his since long before his fight with Valuev and last night's fight was the culmination of his journey. Because of that, I am totally crushed by how easily he seemed to be beaten by Wladimir Klitschko.

He can blame it on his toe, which can be a serious injury, but the fact of the matter is that Wlad was just too good for him last night. He worked behind his jab, as you would expect him to do and Haye didn't get close to beating him at any point in the fight. I knew, from months ago, that this fight was never going to be a stoppage. Whilst Haye might have some more power in his fists, Wlad has a great chin and I knew that both of these guys were going to play it close to their chests and it might turn out to be a cagey fight.

In the end, that's the way it turned out and Wlad has every reason to be happy with his efforts. Haye needed to prove something last night and he didn't do that. Don't get me wrong, he has no reason to feel dejected or let down by his own performance because he did his best but the Klitschko's are just too complicated an opponent. They are built to box and their physique lends itself to them being some of the most difficult opponents in boxing.

That being said, Wlad could have been beat last night and I often think that Haye could have stopped him by being more forward in the first couple of rounds. Still, he was beaten and beaten well by Wlad last night and I think that is probably the last we have seen of David Haye in a boxing ring. He's made his money from last night and there is no way that Vitali will fight him now. No way in Hell.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I hope Haye's reputation takes a serious hit from this fight, as it should, since he proved himself to be a fraud. That he didn't have the fight plan or boxing skill to get the job done was obvious; Klitschko fought the same fight he always does; it's not as if Wladimir came up with a new strategy that Haye was unable to overcome.

But that damn tactic Haye used in continually dropping to the canvas in an effort to get points taken away from Klitschko made Haye look like more of a wimp than a warrior. Boxing is a noble sport pitting one person against another, mano-a-mano. (It's the only time I can appreciate the "macho" characteristics in man).

Instead, we saw Haye, trying to win by getting his opponent penalized .....and continually looking at the referee to mime the point that Klitschko was "fouling" him; which he wasn't. If I watch boxing, I want to see a man win by outpointing or knocking out his opponent, not by using politics to get the victory. I loved it when the ref called a knockdown on one of Haye's flops.

Yes, I wish Wladimir had a more crowd-pleasing style.....but he wins, and that's what it's about.

As for Haye, I won't waste my time watching him fight again.

 

[Calderownz]

In truth, I doubt David Haye has another meaningful fight at this point. He can retire later this year or fight 20 more years. His top-level career is over. He simply ruined his marketability.

I've always said; if a fight is boring, blame the loser. This fight really proves my theory. Wladimir Klitschko was chasing and looking to land shots, Haye was looking for one big bomb to get the win. Klitschko was tagged in the last round and he went on the attack as a result. He wanted a challenge and Haye bailed after the third. If you lose, you're the one that should have been pushing the action.

All there is to it. Sad. And I'm a fan of both Haye and Klitschko.