Eurosport - Sun, 08 Nov 04:00:00 2009
David Haye produced a tactical masterclass to outfox and outbox Nikolai Valuev to claim the WBA heavyweight title in Nuremburg.
Haye was giving away seven-stone in weight but he had a plan in mind from the outset and it was executed to perfection.
The Londoner, rather than get involved in a tear-up, spent the whole fight on the move and this completely frustrated his Russian opponent.
Aside from taking a shot that forced him back for a moment in round five, Haye was never caught by the Russian.
The better punches came from Haye who moved like a fox to confuse Valuev before letting go with sharp combinations.
In truth, Haye's power rarely troubled Valuev but he was getting through the better work and it proved crucial.
The final round saw Haye catch Valuev with a clubbing right that sent the Russian staggering and the Londoner finished the fight with a flourish.
The greater work from Haye proved crucial as although one of the judges scored it even at 114-114, two of the judges went for Haye 116-112 to hand him the heavyweight crown and the first for a Briton since Lennox Lewis retired six years ago.
Haye revealed after the fight that his tactics altered in round two as he damaged his hand which forced him on to the defensive, but it did not matter as he claimed the crown.
"This means everything it truly does," said Haye.
"He wasn't hitting me and I was landing clean shots. I knew I was landing clean shots as I caned my hand in the second round. I hit him with an overhead right and his head is the hardest thing I've ever hit. It's like hitting a brick wall.
"I had real bad pain in my right hand and was only going to use it when his chin was hanging out. I hit him with one with a bit of meat in the final round and you saw his legs go. He's never gone like that before and it shows the power I do have.
"I am pretty sure my hand is broke, but it's a price worth paying in to be world champion.
"I made him look like a novice in there and felt like I could do whatever I wanted in there."
Valuev admitted he found it impossible to get to grips with Haye.
"The speed of my opponent was a problem," said Valuev. "I could not work my right and the 40-plus kilos difference in weight is something you start to feel."
Haye stunned the 36-year-old in the final round, threatening him with his first knock out. The Russian managed to stay on his feet but felt it was the key moment in the fight.
"It was all decided in that final round," Valuev said, whose record now is 50-2. "It was clearly that last round."
Comment 408 - 427 of 427
tua would ko haye in two rounds............nevermind the 2 bros!!
mark how about you get in the ring with valuev? there was nothing wrong with the way haye fought he outboxed his opponent and you should feel priveledged that you saw such a great performance and not criticise the guy. He had a plan and he executed it to perfection. Do you honestly think he would have a tear up against valuev? dont be so silly.
Hey paddyz11 this is a forum, you dont have to use proper grammar. If it does say to write on correct grammar on here then i must have missed it.
i was writing a comment not an essay. !
424 i agree m8 what a sad show it was boxers should box not hit n run lol the boxers of old youst to dodge a punch n counter u never seen tyson hit n run n he gave away a big height difference in most fights n knocked the opponents head of..
Bottom line should be to be the man you must BEAT the man. Haye congrats but it is robbery. Come on knock him out or something then you would get the recognition. Also if u aint scared of fighting him again go in with ur boxing boots and running shoes this time. VALUEV rematch!!!!
Hey, I'm an open minded girl from UK, I'm interested in exotic things, photography, dating and sports...I have my photos on --- T a l l h u b Co m ---, I love tall guys!
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if its not there you cant hit it simps
Hey tomevans619. Are you still in junior school? Your spelling and grammar say so. Or are you too lazy to press the shift and full stop buttons?
hey steven !! if all you got to do is throw 3 punches a round and run for 11 rounds around the ring and win a championship then HELL YES id get in the ring with a 7 ft 2 giant weighing 22 stone. MADDIE u talk a lot of sence love there was defo a few brown envelopes flying around last night. for all those out there who either do a bit of boxing or is a real fan of boxing should be ashamed of urselves for saying that it was a tactical masterclass, tactical masterFARCE yes !! the result last night was all about marketing, and il tell you y. the heavyweight fight people wants to see is haye vs one of the klitchkos and for that to happen haye would have needed to win other wise don king couldnt get him the contract. dont get me wrong i dont think valuev won it either i personaly think a draw should be the only out come for it. as i said in my other post its good for british boxing and the heavyweight division but after a fight like last night there wouldnt be many takers to fight valuev if he won last night lets face it which we have to if you cant run away from him the only way you could beat him is to stop him !! and not many people would be up for that challenge. put like that it makes sence. i can not wait for the pacquiao - cotto fight next week pac-man will win by K/o and then go on to fight mayweather. i Want hatton and khan fighting next so that i can shut a load of people up who think khan will beat hatton.
p.s
maddie ur good looking ;)
x
I wanted that cute Hayes to win. He won bcus he is really quick and small and that russian dude is just huge! Hayes moves really fast and the dude is slow so when hayes move the dude needs 2 get him and theres the chance that hayes can win and he did. LUV UUUUUUUUU HHHHHAAAYYYEEESSS.
But well done russian dudes and congrate Hayes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great win David a pleasure to watch the intelligent dismantling of a opponent far taller and heavier.
However a equaling delight after the fight had finished was recalling the sight of DON KING standing in the ring whilst the boxers were being introduced waving the flags of Russia,Germany and the USA, and his pre-fight prediction that Klitscho would knock Haye out.-----What a Looser
Great win David a pleasure to watch the intelligent dismantling of a opponent far taller and heavier.
However a equaling delight after the fight had finished was recalling the sight of DON KING standing in the ring whilst the boxers were being introduced waving the flags of Russia,Germany and the USA, and his pre-fight prediction that Klitscho would knock Haye out.-----What a Looser
It's that old debate again.... Hayes won the BOXING match! being stratigic, he was the victor, however it was not a brawling match, and fear he wouldn't have been so lucky, never the less, well done Dave.
I've always rated Haye, but this is nothing like honeygan vs curry, Valuev was such a limited fighter, i never doubted Haye would win and he did it very easily. Can't wat for his next fight, i would like to see him have a couple more before the klitchko (my spellings is probable wrong lol!) brothers. And who the hell mentioned Fedor what a dumb comment.
Boxing is about tactics, not underestimating your opponents and BOXING. Valuev was trying to box from the first bell to the last, always endeavouring to keep going forward, but alas Haye was much lighter and faster and it was easy for him to RUN AWAY in case he got himself involved in the BOXING side of the things, I say things because it was most certainly not a fight because you need at least TWO people to be involved for it to be classed as a fight. Haye won this so called contest by RUNNING AWAY from his opponent and only delivering an odd punch ( as he said in his own words ) " you need to connect with punches to score, you cant win a fight if you dont land any punches" . David Haye let all the boxing fans down with these tactics, it was NOT a proper boxing match that fans expect to see in any bout, especially a high profile contest such as a World Title Contest, this has made a complete mockery of boxing at a time when boxing is under the microscope, I would"nt go bragging too much about being World Champion because I think that you did nothing to deserve it and also you did the art of boxing a massive dis-service.
To all those who have negatives to say about the fight and/or tactics I say: Get in the ring with Valuev and see how you get on.
Unconventional win for certain, and much against the odds. But never the less a superb win.
Well done Haye and training team, especially the sports phsycologist who provided the mindset to get the job done.
Hayes win is equal if not greater than Honeyguns win over Curry in 1986. Need I say more?
love it....i was convinced haye would win.....really great news for british sport.
Its very hard to catch to hit, when somebody like David Haye running like a small rabbit. Wasn't getting in to the fight. If you afraid and you know you gonna run all the time, why you went to that fight? Or you paid a loads off money to win that fight? Where is the truth? It was really waste of money for the rabbit dance Mr. Haye!!!
The problem with Haye is that he is mistaking the size of his talent with the size of his ego... Big mistake, fair enough he got the win but it was like watchin Dancing With Stars... Stick a freakin tutu on the big headed clown, Thow him in the ring with Fedor and he would'nt last a second...
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