{"id":2149,"date":"2010-04-16T00:00:14","date_gmt":"2010-04-16T04:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ringsidereport.com\/?p=2149"},"modified":"2010-04-16T00:00:14","modified_gmt":"2010-04-16T04:00:14","slug":"heavyweight-excitement-no-longer-an-oxymoron","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=2149","title":{"rendered":"Heavyweight Excitement: No longer an Oxymoron?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Jeff Stoyanoff<\/strong><\/p>\n

When David Haye stopped John Ruiz on April 3rd in Manchester it was both expected and an upset.\u00a0 Most observers expected Haye to win the fight, but quite a few also figured that the experienced and cagey Ruiz would make it a most competitive fight.\u00a0 That Haye won was expected.\u00a0 That Haye dominated Ruiz and became the first man in over a decade to earn a stoppage against him?\u00a0 That can accurately be characterized as somewhat of an upset.
\n\u00a0
\nNaturally, with the spectacular nature of Haye\u2019s win there will be the all too predictable suggestion that Ruiz was old and shot or perhaps simply overrated as a top fighter.\u00a0 Ruiz has never been blessed with fantastic gifts in the ring.\u00a0 He is not extraordinarily fast nor does he have tremendous power.\u00a0 Yet, Ruiz is an intelligent fighter, an excellent tactician, and he knows how to use those qualities in the ring.\u00a0 If there is a legacy to the career of John Ruiz it is that he was possessed of a special ability to be competitive in fights; a level of competitiveness that belied his natural gifts.\u00a0 For one of the rarest and most glaring times in a long and distinguished career, John Ruiz was overmatched in a fight and David Haye deserves all the credit in the world for that.
\n\u00a0
\nYet, now the conversation will turn to David Haye and the brothers Klitschko.\u00a0 Haye has already made no bones about the fact that he can\u2019t wait to get either (and eventually both) of them in the ring.\u00a0 And, for their part, the Klitschkos seem pretty keen on the idea as well.\u00a0 While it may be wrong to dismiss Haye\u2019s win over Ruiz as merely what should have taken place, it would also be wrong to overlook the fact that either Klitschko is anything less than a giant step up for Haye.\u00a0 And speaking of giants\u2026<\/p>\n

Images of Valuev<\/strong>
\n\u00a0
\nWe certainly got a glimpse of how dangerous it can be to follow David Haye around in the ring.\u00a0 In fact, we got that glimpse about fifteen seconds into the fight when John Ruiz was caught flat footed by a lightning fast right hand from Haye and was promptly deposited on the canvas.\u00a0 It was a shocking display of just how talented Haye can be.\u00a0 From that point on, Haye demonstrated repeated flashes of brilliance as he methodically, yet inexorably dismantled Ruiz over nine one sided rounds.\u00a0 Ruiz gamely continued to take the fight to Haye and was not without some offensive success, but ultimately the speed mismatch was too much to overcome.\u00a0 However, one must wonder if the same active and utterly destructive Haye that decimated Ruiz would be the one that shows up for either Klitschko.\u00a0 The genesis of this question lay not in the conjecture of a potential matchup, but in the certitude of history.\u00a0 Haye often looked befuddled in his fight with former WBA Champion, Nikolay Valuev.
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\nIn the first six rounds of the Haye-Valuev fight, Haye threw only 84 punches.\u00a0 The fact of the matter is, Haye was clearly unsure of how to proceed against the taller and longer Valuev.\u00a0 Both Klitschko brothers are far more in line with Valuev than Ruiz in terms of a matchup of styles.\u00a0 It is undoubtedly true that Haye won against Valuev and even staggered him badly in the twelfth and final round.\u00a0 On the other hand, it is also true that both Klitschkos are better fighters than Valuev and present a much greater challenge both offensively and defensively as potential opponents for Haye.
\n\u00a0
\nSo, David Haye will probably be considered a rightful underdog when he eventually squares off with Wlad or Vitali.\u00a0 The ring records and fighting styles will dictate that.\u00a0 However, this is still a hugely exciting and intriguing potential matchup.\u00a0\u00a0 There is something in this potential bout that differs greatly from the previous fights involving either Kltischko.\u00a0 David Haye is not just good, he is live; he has something.\u00a0 He has speed, he has power, and he has a big mouth\u2026<\/p>\n

The Talking Game<\/strong>
\n\u00a0
\nThe Klitschko\u2019s are avid chess players; and it shows.\u00a0 They are both cerebral tacticians in and out of the ring.\u00a0 In the ring, both are remarkably disciplined as they patiently set up their opponent before often brutally taking them out sometime in the mid to later stages of a fight.\u00a0 Quite often, the end comes quite awhile after the competitive aspects of the fight have long since been decided.\u00a0 In other words, they don\u2019t feel any urgency to finish a guy as soon as they sense their advantage.\u00a0 Why rush in and run into a checkmate?\u00a0 Or, in boxing parlance, run into a huge shot that can turn a fight.\u00a0 Recently, nobody has been able to avoid their inevitable doom in a match with the Klitschko\u2019s as both of them seem to come out set up their shots and eventually destroy their often beleaguered opponent; the disciplined attack wreaking havoc on overmatched fighters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But, David Haye is going about things in a different way.\u00a0 Haye has already angered both Klitschkos.\u00a0 The talking seems to be a ploy designed to enrage them and throw them off their deliberate yet devastating game.\u00a0 In a recent interview, Freddie Roach said that the feud between Pacquiao and Mayweather wasn\u2019t simply hype and that Pacquiao really does hate Mayweather.\u00a0 However, Roach quickly cautioned that he needed to steer Manny away from that because fighting angry would severely undermine his chances for success in that fight.\u00a0 Pacquiao being angry would be exactly what Mayweather would want as it would greatly increase the chances that Pacquiao would make mistakes in the ring.\u00a0<\/p>\n

David Haye would no doubt love for the Klitschkos to be angry and make those same mistakes.\u00a0 Haye is the smaller man.\u00a0 He needs the Klitschkos to take chances.\u00a0 He needs them to want to fight not simply box.\u00a0 Haye can\u2019t afford for them to be too disciplined.\u00a0 For all his talent, Haye struggled at times to get going against Valuev and that doesn\u2019t bode well when a Klitschko is throwing punches at you.\u00a0 But, if that discipline slips; if the opponent reaches just a little; leans in and fights a little less tall; opens himself up too early, perhaps the explosive talent of Haye can produce the seismic upset.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Valero Effect<\/strong>
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\nMuch is made of the loss David Haye suffered to Carl Thompson.\u00a0 While it is true that Haye was in fact knocked out in the fight, the loss nevertheless occurred nearly six years ago.\u00a0 Haye is a different fighter now; a decidedly better fighter.\u00a0 Similarly, much is made of perceived defensive lapses by Haye, specifically a tendency to have his hands down even while in the punching range of his opponents.\u00a0 Admittedly, the lack of discipline can get him in some trouble.\u00a0 Haye has been down in two of his last five fights.\u00a0 However, fighters are certainly aware of who they are fighting in the ring on a given night.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A rudimentary search on youtube will yield several rounds against different opponents in the career of Edwin Valero.\u00a0 In the video, Valero is often wild on his punches, his hands are often down, he is regularly squared up to his opponent, and he is routinely off balance.\u00a0 In short, based on those rounds, Valero\u2019s vaunted record to that point looked like a strong case of padding; a case of a talented, but thoroughly undisciplined fighter feasting on inferior opposition.\u00a0 Then, Valero took on Antonio Demarco.\u00a0 Demarco, another rising star, presented a more formidable challenge.\u00a0 Somewhat surprisingly, Valero fought extraordinarily well demonstrating an as yet unseen level of fundamental discipline as he systematically took apart a solid young fighter in Demarco.\u00a0 Valero undoubtedly knew of Demarco\u2019s acumen in the ring and he had an innate understanding of what he could not afford to do in the ring that night.\u00a0 Valero had it in him all along.\u00a0 He just brought it out when he needed it.\u00a0 Despite Haye\u2019s bluster, it seems inconceivable that he would not recognize the abilities of the Klitschkos.\u00a0 Haye will be sharp; he can\u2019t afford not to be.\u00a0 Unfortunately for either brother, they will almost certainly be getting the best version of David Haye they could possibly meet.<\/p>\n

Beyond the Wins and Losses<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the end, it really doesn\u2019t matter what happens in a fight between one of the Klitschkos and Haye.\u00a0 The result is secondary because the significance of this fight lay not in the result so much as in the perception of the fans.\u00a0 People are going to wonder just how Haye might fare.\u00a0 They will wonder if the movement will be problematic.\u00a0 There will be a curiosity about how the brothers will deal with the speed and power.\u00a0 And, curiosity will abound about just how much damage Haye can do with his awkward, darting style.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Much has been made of the lack of talent in the heavyweight division.\u00a0 Last year, most of the writers on this site for instance couldn\u2019t even nominate a heavyweight fight of the year.\u00a0 Are the Klitschko\u2019s overrated because they fight in such a weak division?\u00a0 Or, is it that the Klitschko\u2019s are underrated in an all time sense as they have the misfortune of dominating what is only apparently a weak division?\u00a0 Those are hard questions to answer definitively, but, beyond the questions of talent and the dearth of quality fights, what is missing most of all in the heavyweight division in recent years, is wonder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Haye\u2019s scintillating performance may not prove to be the opening salvo in an ascent that will eventually take him passed the Kltischko\u2019s and to the top of the division, but it doesn\u2019t necessarily have to.\u00a0 The most exciting thing about Haye\u2019s performance is that any boxing fan has to be just a little bit curious.\u00a0 Chris Arreola, Eddie Chambers, Ruslan Chagaev, Kevin Johnson, Ray Austin, Tony Thompson, Sam Peter, and really every Klitschko opponent in the past several years, they all have had a similar feel. They have all been good, solid fighters who earned their chance and deserve our respect.\u00a0 But, none of them made us wonder.\u00a0 The reality is, one way or another they were simply not capable of beating the Klitschko\u2019s and we all knew it.\u00a0 But, Haye is a little bit different.\u00a0 Maybe it\u2019s the speed, or maybe it\u2019s just the brash talking, but the energy he brings is different.\u00a0 There remains ample reason to think he may be in over his head when he steps in against either Wlad or Vitali.\u00a0 But, with the speed and the style and the ego, he does bring one more thing that none of the others could, excitement.\u00a0 One can\u2019t help but wonder and it\u2019s been awhile since we could say that.<\/p>\n

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By Jeff Stoyanoff When David Haye stopped John Ruiz on April 3rd in Manchester it was both expected and an upset.\u00a0 Most observers expected Haye to win the fight, but quite a few also figured that the experienced and cagey Ruiz would make it a most competitive fight.\u00a0 That Haye won was expected.\u00a0 That Haye […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[105,152,190,319,535,762],"class_list":["post-2149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-boxing","tag-champion","tag-david-haye","tag-heavyweight","tag-nikolay-valuev","tag-wlad-klitschko"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2149"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2149\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2149"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2149"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2149"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}