David Haye & the Future of the British Boxing Scene
By Damien Norman
February 20th, it was scheduled to be a promising night of British Heavyweight Boxing. Young prospect Tyson Fury was set to face a tough test against the big punching Brazilian Luiz Nascimento and also “The War Machine” Larry Olubamiwo was facing his toughest test to date by taking on John McDermott who has been labeled the unluckiest Boxer of all time.
We were all excited about these Heavyweight showdowns which were on two separate bills and locations and we were hoping to find out a little bit more about the state of British Heavyweight Boxing.
Leading up to the clash Tyson Fury and his promoter Mick Hennessey were relentless in informing us of just how big a’ test Nascimento would be come Saturday and we were all suckered in. The mention of a particular YouTube video showing Nascimento taking out an opponent in the first round with a huge uppercut left us all believing this really would be a stern test for Fury.
Unfortunately Nascimento, for all of his guts and courage was merely a novice and Fury had an easy night eventually knocking out his opponent and winning the fight in the 5th round.
I have been a harsh critic of Fury who I believe is incredibly over-hyped, and where my stance remains on his weaknesses this was probably the most complete performance by him. Although up against a terrible opponent who had nothing but a haymaker type swing that was seemingly being thrown from Brazil, Fury took him out with a good shot to end the fight but unfortunately my opinion has not been changed and I still do not see this him becoming the superstar that they are making him out to be. After the fight Fury called out just about every British Heavyweight including Dereck Chisora claiming he would destroy them all… this is certain to gauge a reaction.
Next up was Larry Olubamiwo defending his Southern Area Title against John McDermott. This was to be Olubamiwo’s 12th outing as a professional and his first real test. He was going in to this fight confident of the victory and wanted to prove he had the ability to compete at British level. McDermott was coming in to this fight on the back of the controversy surrounding his English Title bouts with Tyson Fury and was extremely eager to put that farce behind him and get back to business…boy did he do that!
Everybody knew Olubamiwo lacked the technical element to his game but felt his pure power would be too much for McDermott and he would blast him out early but I don’t think a single person predicted that McDermott would destroy his opponent the way he did. Olubamiwo tried to Box his opponent and the first telling shot thrown from McDermott had Olubamiwo’s legs shaking. Olubamiwo was shortly on the canvas and upon returning to his feet was put straight back down with the fight brought to end. The fight lasted 75 seconds and Olubamiwo was left heavily embarrassed by ‘Big Bad John’. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear that Olubamiwo has a future in the sport unless he goes right back to the drawing board, which is a real shame as physically he looks like Bruno at his best and is a real nice guy to top that but unfortunately lacks Boxing ability however McDermott looks set to perhaps land himself an opportunity of a major British Title fight.
Looking at the British Heavyweight scene as a whole David Haye for a long time has been flying the flag for British Heavyweight Boxing however he has not been without heavy criticism for seemingly ducking both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko. As a Heavyweight he hasn’t really had a proper test and with plans to retire at the end of the year he is definitely not going to go down in history for his success or legacy.
By now, Haye should have done what Finchley sensation Dereck Chisora is doing and that is taking on one of the Klitschko’s.
Chisora travels to Germany in April to take on the younger of the two Wladimir with an opportunity to launch himself onto the World scene and quite literally set it on fire. Dereck Chisora is the current British Champ and has not defended the Title since September and this has riled Tyson Fury who is the mandatory for the Title.
After his last fight, Fury hit out at Chisora claiming he is in no rush to chase a World Title and will get his opportunity when he is Mandatory challenger, not voluntary! Harsh but true I guess and it is clear Fury really wants to face Chisora, and now. The fight would be a real top draw Heavyweight spectacle and would attract masses. People are largely unclear at to whether Fury is any good or not and Chisora is seen as the future star of the sport.
So, David Haye looks set to bow out at the end of year, Chisora faces Klitschko in April and Tyson Fury… well, who knows!?, but who else is making noise in Britain? Let’s take a look at the Boxers who I believe could go “To the top.”
David Price: Coming from Liverpool he stands at 6’8 and is most known for his Olympic bronze medal in 2008. He turned professional in 2009, signing to Hayemaker Promotions and currently has an unbeaten record with 9 wins.
Price has beat Tyson Fury as an amateur and rumor has it he has also put him down in sparring too. With them both standing within an inch of each other in height this is dissimilar to their physiques; Price comes to the ring much lighter and toned and you don’t hear him doing too much of the trash talking either!
Price has only fought journeyman thus far but his promoters have been trying to make the potential clash between him and Fury happen for a long time now. Many feel Price could be the one to watch and is a much more natural Boxer than Fury, and on a personal level I think he has more potential than Fury.
Richard Towers: Ok, I am about to say “Richard Towers stands at 6’8’” and you will probably be thinking “no he doesn’t, you just said that Price fella’ does”… he really is also 6’8!
What can I tell you about this “tower” of a Boxer? He is nicknamed “The Inferno,” and it might shock you to find out that he was previously sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for being part of a gang that tortured a man. Although pretty awful to hear, Towers was not involved in the victim’s ordeal and consequently only served 6 and a half years.
He turned professional as a Boxer in 2009 and since then has notched up a professional record of 8 wins. Towers appears to have heaps of ability and possesses a real toughness and plenty of power however, at 31 and being a late starter in the game he really has to get his move on if he is to make real head waves in the game.
Tom Dallas: Rounding up my list of fighters potentially heading to the top is this heavy handed hitter from Chatham, Kent.
Wait for it… he stands at….no, it’s not 6’8 but he is an impressive 6’6 which is certainly no joke and in general terms would be considered substantially tall.
Like Tom Dallas and David Price I really like this guy. He is tall (like the others) and has a real never say die attitude and to date has 13 wins (but as you would expect these victories have been against journeyman).
Dallas also has a really impressive amateur background and in 2007 got to the ABA finals where he was unfortunate to lose on points. He has fought over 50 amateur fights and looks like he really means business in the pro ranks.
Dereck Chisora, Tyson Fury, David Price, Richard Towers and Tom Dallas… 5 fighters, all undefeated with bags of potential but in conclusion who is the most likely to live up to the hype?
Obviously Chisora and Fury are in the best position right now; Chisora fights for the World Title in a few months and Tyson Fury has had so much media attention that whether you like him or not you know who he is but believe me when I saw you would be a fool to overlook Price, Towers and Dallas.
Individually they have huge physical attributes and as Heavyweights are not afraid to go to the trenches. At some point in the near future a couple of these Boxers are going to meet each other and something has to give. It looks likely that, dependant on his triumph with Klitschko Chisora will have to face Fury but if this doesn’t happen it may be David Price that attempts to answer all of the questions against Tyson Fury.
As you can see there are some under the radar guys here in the UK that have the opportunity to progress and emerge on to the World scene just like “Del Boy” Chisora has. Time is always the telling factor and although I have said it in just about every article so far I really do believe this is a massive year for Heavyweight Boxing at Domestic and World level.