Following David Haye's 2 round destruction of former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Macreneli last night, does anyone think he can be as effective at heavyweight and beat the likes of Klitschko or Chaegev or newly crowned Samuel Peters?
Haye says he wants to fight Klitschko ,but can Haye really dish out out and take the power of Klitschko?
I'm not certain at this stage, I remember Haye losing badly and being KOed by a 40 year old Carl Thompson.
Perhaps Haye will become like Herbie Hide, brilliant at light heayweight, but gets crushed by the big boys(Riddick Bowe and Vitali Klitschko)

Here's the video of Haye vs Macrenelli fight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu-ND04dEnM&e

I think Haye will win at least one world heavyweight title. At some stage he may get knocked out, after all Lennox Lewis was knocked out by Rahman and McCall (though he avenged the defeats). If I was a betting man I would back Haye to beat all the current champions. I also think Maccarinelli will come back and win further titles at Cruiserweight now that Haye will move to Heavyweight.

If I was a betting man I would back Haye to beat all the current champions. I also think Maccarinelli will come back and win further titles at Cruiserweight now that Haye will move to Heavyweight.

Quite a bold statement, Haye does have good skill and power as demonstated last night, but his power may not be as effective when moving up to heavyweight and taking on the big guys.
David Haye's chin and defence would be sorely tested against a genuine heavyweight puncher like either Peter or Klitschko or Valuev, as he has already been felled by 2 cruiserweights, Thompson and Jean-Marc Mormeck.
Like I said before Haye reminds me very much of Herbie Hide, quick and has good power, but when he met Bowe he was soon humbled by the weight of Bowe's punches and simarly Vitali Klitschko made light work of Hide.
Whilst the quality of the best heavyweights right now is a far cry from Riddick Bowe and Vitali Klitschko, I still feel that a similar fate may await David Haye.

It is not about being knocked down, it is whether you can get up again. Vladimir Klitchko was knocked down 3 times by Peter but beat him. Haye, when very young, got stopped by the quality old fox Carl Thompson. He has won everything else. Valuev is huge in stature, but isn't a big puncher. Haye blasted out top 15 rated heavyweight Tomas Bonin within one round last year. He will be hard to stop.

It is not about being knocked down, it is whether you can get up again. Vladimir Klitchko was knocked down 3 times by Peter but beat him. Haye, when very young, got stopped by the quality old fox Carl Thompson. He has won everything else. Valuev is huge in stature, but isn't a big puncher. Haye blasted out top 15 rated heavyweight Tomas Bonin within one round last year. He will be hard to stop.

I agree about the ability to get up again but that's just it, can you be sure that Haye would be able to get up from a genuine heavyweight punch from the likes of Peter, Klitschko or Valuev.
Valuev doesn't have great skill ,but when he does put his punches together he can certainly bang, his destuction of Beck was as powerful a punch as I have seen from any of the heavyweights today.
If you haven't seen the Valuev Vs Beck fight here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1aAE-svi_U
As for Tomas Bonin he's not really a rated heavyweight and hasn't fought anyone of note, unless you call Audley Harrison worthy of note! and Harrison beat Bonin!

PS, just seen the Valuev YouTube clip but unfortunately it doesn't show the punch very clearly, I originally saw it on TV from a much better angle and in slo mo, and that last knock down punch was a cracker that would have put down many good heavyweights.

David Haye on his heavyweight debut knocked out one of the top ten contenders. Without a doubt he is going to be the biggest thing to hit the heavyweight division in quite a while.

I think he will definatley bring some limelight to what is a very boring heavyweight scene at the moment- I dont think he is anywhere good as Lewis was or even get to his level, but agree he may beat one of the current East European fighters and win a belt!

I personally feel Frank Warren made this fight because they thought Haye had no legs at the weight anymore. It was well documented how much weight he had to lose prior to the Mormeck fight as he had to come down from the weight he was at for the Heavyweight bout.

The Enzo fight was made at the end of December, so all Haye had to do was maintain his weight rather than blowing up to his natural 220-230lbs that he walks around at. I think is was about 204lbs three weeks before the fight. So 4lbs to lose in 3 weeks is nothing for a pro boxer. Warren and the Calzaghe camp thought he'd be weight drained. How wrong were they? :-).

I think Enzo will be back though. But I feel this would have been his 3rd loss rather than his 2nd because I reckon Johnny Nelson would've schooled him in their planned bout had he not been forced to retire because of that knee injury.

Haye's heavyweight chances look real good I think. He'll be fast tracked considering he's the undisputed Cruiserweight champ. He'll win a version of the Heavyweight title but I don't think he'll unify the division due to the fact he plans on not boxing when he's 30. If he wants to unify, he'll have to box until at least 32 unless two of the boxers he faces hold two versions of the championship. Top boxers only box twice a year or so, which is a big gripe of mine.

If he manages to keep some of the speed he has at this weight and the extra power he is going to have with a couple of extra stone I cannot see anybody stopping him

David Haye on his heavyweight debut knocked out one of the top ten contenders. Without a doubt he is going to be the biggest thing to hit the heavyweight division in quite a while.

Hmm Tomasz Bonin, a Top Ten Contender?:hihi:
That's being generous to Bonnin to say the least!
Whilst it's true that Bonin was curiously rated at no.11 by the equally curious WBC ratings, I don't think you'd find many boxers and pundits who would put Bonnin in their list of top 25 heavyweights even before his fight with Haye.
Take a look at the FEB 08 WBC rankings and note that Bonin has gone down to 37!
Also note that the WBC have 3 ageing boxers in Ruiz, Mcall, and Golota in their top ten!

Now do you still think Bonin was a top ten contender!

WBC Heavyweight rankings FEB 08:

1 .- Vladimir Virchis (Ukraine) EBU
2 .- Juan Carlos Gomez (Cuba) INTL
3 .- Hasim Rahman (US) NABF
4 .- Alexander Dimitrenko (Ukraine)
5 .- John Ruiz (P. Rico)
6 .- Chris Arreola (US) AMERICA
7 .- Oliver McCall (US)
8 .- Andrew Golota (Poland)
9 .- Jameel McCline (US)
10 .- Donnell Holmes (US)
11 .- Kali Meehan (New Zealand)
12 .- Michael Moorer (US)
13 .- Oleg Platov (Ukraine)
14 .- JD Chapman (US) LATINO/Interim
15 .- Carl Davis Drummond (Costa Rica) FECARBOX

16 .- David Tua (New Zealand)
17 .- Joe Mesi (US) USNBC
18 .- Kevin Johnson (US)
19 .- Odlanier Solis (Cuba) LATINO
20 .- DaVarryl Williamson (US)
21 .- Sinan Samil Sam (Turkey) MEDITERRANEAN
22 .- Fres Oquendo (US) CABOFE
23 .- Roman Greenberg (Israel)
24 .- Denis Boytsov (Russia)
25 .- David Rodriguez (US)
26 .- Derrick Rossy (P. Rico) ABCO
27 .- Mike Mollo (US)
28 .- Monte Barrett (US)
29 .- Manuel Quezada (US) CABOFE-Interim
30 .- Paolo Vidoz (Italy)
31 .- Chazz Witherspoon (US)
32 .- Malik Scott (US)
33 .- Taras Bidenko (Ukraine)
34 .- Jean-Francois Bergeron (Canada)
35 .- Francesco Pianeta (Italy)
36 .- Brian Minto (US)
37 .- Tomasz Bonin (Poland)
38 .- Sherman Williams (Bahamas)
39 .- Alexey Soloviev (Russia) CISBB
40 .- Egon Roth (

Golota was actually excellent in his last fight. There are so many mediocre heavyweights that it is hard to distinguish between them. Time will tell.

Golota was actually excellent in his last fight. There are so many mediocre heavyweights that it is hard to distinguish between them. Time will tell.

I didn't watch his points win over Mollo but do remember him getting blasted out by Lamon Brewster in one round a few years back, I had a few bob on Brewster as well.

I see Johnny Nelson is saying he would make a comeback to fight Haye.

Haye is a bit different to Hide in that he is a good boxer (sorry Herbie!).

Since the loss to Ashley he has adjusted his attitude and is now comfortable to take his time rather than going for the KO (unless his opponent is a sitting duck as Enzo was).

His problem with the heavies will be that they aren't actually as bad as the rumours would have us believe. Even with his china chin, Wlad may be a better boxer than Vitali. Peter and Chagaev are no mugs and Valuev's sheer size makes him a proposition.

Should be interesting!

His problem with the heavies will be that they aren't actually as bad as the rumours would have us believe. Even with his china chin, Wlad may be a better boxer than Vitali. Peter and Chagaev are no mugs and Valuev's sheer size makes him a proposition.

Should be interesting!

Wlad is now where near as good as Vitali, if they ever fought each other and both were fully fit, Vitali would knock Wlad out in 1st round with his chin!

Back on the subject of Haye, he reminds me a bit of Amir Khan in that if he gets caught flush, he goes down or is affected. Haye and Khan definately have the speed and shots to knock opponents out, but one punch and it could be lights out for both!

It is certainly an interesting time for Haye, i hope he gets a chin as then i don't see any of the big heavyweights beating him :hihi:

I see Johnny Nelson is saying he would make a comeback to fight Haye.

Nelson is a bottler, he ducked and dived his way through his rubbish reign as cruiserweight champ. He didn't fight Haye when he was champ, cos he was too busy fighting bums and keeping his "title".

He just wants a payday off the back of Haye. Haye shouldn't even acknowledge this piffle from old man Nelson.

His problem with the heavies will be that they aren't actually as bad as the rumours would have us believe. Even with his china chin, Wlad may be a better boxer than Vitali. Peter and Chagaev are no mugs and Valuev's sheer size makes him a proposition.



We will never get to find out who would win out of Vitali and Wlad as they have vowed to never fight each other in the ring.
But even if the boxing sanctioning bodies forced the 2 brothers to fight each other you wouldn't reallly have a proper fight as both would be reluctant to let any real bombs fly.
I do recall though that before either of them fought for the world title Wlad was considered the better of the 2.
I would also agree that although the heavyweight scene isn't exactly in the same league as the Ali,Tyson, Holyfield,Lewis eras, it is in much better shape than many think it is.

For over 5 years we have heard from various commentators that the heavyweight division was very weak and that the heavyweight title was up for grabs.
Well if it was so so weak then how come none of the domestic boxers have even made a dent in the world heavyweight scene for the past 5 years.
First there was Danny Williams who I remember about 5 years ago saying that it would be him (Danny Williams) and the Klitschko brothers that would dominate the heavyweights.
Well he was right about the Klitschkos at least!
Then there was Audley Harrison, or Fraudley as I prefer to call him.
I recall Fraudley predicting that it would be himself and Dominic Guinn dominating the division!
Wildly out on both counts Fraudley!:hihi:
And then there was Skelton, more spolier skills than boxing skills. If you ever want to fall asleep when watching a boxing match then just pick anyone of Skeltons recent efforts disquised as a boxing match.
Whilst the world heavyweight scene has been weaker in the last 5 years it seems the British heavyweights aren't good enough to make any impact.

David Haye might be the exception but there are understandable concerns about his chin, if cruiserweight punches can trouble him then heavyweight punches may be too much for Haye to withstand.
Whilst Hayes first round demolition of heavyweight Tomasz Bonnin was impressive, the jury's still very much out on whether Haye can compete amongst the top heavyweights, after all Bonin wasn't really a "top" heavyweight (despite the curious WBC rating him at no.11!) or even a heavyweight with a big punch.
It will be interesting to see who Haye picks as his next heavyweight opponent, although I'd very much doubt they'd pick real current contendor with a good KO record.

ALEXANDER POVETKIN 15-0 (11kos)
DENIS BOYTSOV (20-0, 18kos)
ODLANIER SOLIS (7-0, 5kos) (Olypic gold medalist who beat Haye)

Are all good new heavyweight prospects to look out for, so Haye still faces stiff competition even if his chin passes the heavyweight test.

It will be interesting to see who Haye picks as his next heavyweight opponent, although I'd very much doubt they'd pick real current contendor with a good KO record
The Haye camp have mentioned Rahman. One thing about about Haye is that he has big cojines and without any influence from Frank 'protect your fighter with mis matched opponents' Warren he'll go after anyone. I have utmost respect for anyone who was willing to fight a French national hero such as Mormeck (who was also no mug by an means) in Paris.

The Haye camp have mentioned Rahman. One thing about about Haye is that he has big cojines and without any influence from Frank 'protect your fighter with mis matched opponents' Warren he'll go after anyone. I have utmost respect for anyone who was willing to fight a French national hero such as Mormeck (who was also no mug by an means) in Paris.

I can see Haye v John Ruiz/Rahman and eventually Klitchklo. Think he will fight most established fighters but maybe after having fought a few 'easy' opponents to get a feel of the heavyweights.

I would like to see Haye vs Sam Peter. That would be a great test, Peter is practically impossible to knock out, and can bang a bit. It would be a good test on 2 counts.

1. How would his chin stand against a genuine heavyweight puncher.

2. We would see if Haye's cruiseweight power transferred to the heavies, as Peter can take a shot like anyones business.

The Haye camp have mentioned Rahman. One thing about about Haye is that he has big cojines and without any influence from Frank 'protect your fighter with mis matched opponents' Warren he'll go after anyone.

Yep I did see Haye and his management talking about Rahman and that they hoped that fight would be an eliminator to fight for a world title.

Hmmm whilst Rahman is an okay opponent, he's hardly next in line for a heavyweight title!
He was knocked out by Maskeav who was subsequently stopped by Sam Peter.
If Haye wants to talk about his next fight being a heavyweight elininator then he really needs to fight another up and coming fighter like Alex Povotekin or Denis Boytsov, not an ageing fighter whos best days are well behind him.:huh:

I would like to see Haye vs Sam Peter. That would be a great test, Peter is practically impossible to knock out, and can bang a bit. It would be a good test on 2 counts.

1. How would his chin stand against a genuine heavyweight puncher.

2. We would see if Haye's cruiseweight power transferred to the heavies, as Peter can take a shot like anyones business.

Peter certainly has power ,but he is quite slow and sticks his chin out, and never looks particuarly fit.
Jameel Mcline had Peter down 3 times in one round, he looked all over the place.
When he fought the other unfit overweight heavy Toney, he couldn't seem to land a single punch on Toney, even though Toney was against the ropes and had his hands down.
Overall I'm not too impressed by Peter and I don't think he'll hold his WBC crown for very long, unless he defends his title against journeymen as opposed to real contendors.

Peter certainly has power ,but he is quite slow and sticks his chin out, and never looks particuarly fit.
Jameel Mcline had Peter down 3 times in one round, he looked all over the place.
When he fought the other unfit overweight heavy Toney, he couldn't seem to land a single punch on Toney, even though Toney was against the ropes and had his hands down.
Overall I'm not too impressed by Peter and I don't think he'll hold his WBC crown for vey long unless, he defends his title against journeymen as opposed to real contendors.

Yes, I agree with your points 100%, but my reasoning was to see how Haye would do against a LEGITIMATE heavywieght, which Peter is.

Yes, I agree with your points 100%, but my reasoning was to see how Haye would do against a LEGITIMATE heavywieght, which Peter is.

I understand your point mholey, but don't forget Peter is one of the current heavyweight champs.
I would really hope that Haye gets "tested" against a legitimate heavyweight long before he challenges for any belt.

Legitimate heavyweights these days would include Jameel Mcline, Valuev, Tua (he still has awesome punching power even today), a fully fit and recovered Lamon Brewster, Sultan Ibragimov and Serguei Lyakhovich.
Newcomers Povetkin and Denis Boytsov and perhaps Calvin Brock, Eddie Chambers and Chav Witherspoon will also be good genuine heavyweight tests BEFORE Haye gets to challenge the likes of Peter for the WBC belt.

For those that haven't seen last night's Haye vs Barrett fight:

http://www.zimbio.com/Jovan+Haye/articles/6/Watch+YouTube+Boxing+Video+David+Haye+vs+Monte

An impressive Haye performance, although I still feel he needs to face better opposition at heavyweight, before jumping in with either Klitschko brothers.

i still worry about his chin, it's not in the Amir Khan glass mould, but it isn't as strong as most heavyweights, but you can only admire his punching power, i think he needs a couple of fights against top 10 ranked heavyweights before he steps in the ring with the Klitschko's, i'd rather he fought Vladimir than Vitali though!!

Following David Haye's 2 round destruction of former WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Macreneli last night, does anyone think he can be as effective at heavyweight and beat the likes of Klitschko or Chaegev or newly crowned Samuel Peters?
Haye says he wants to fight Klitschko ,but can Haye really dish out out and take the power of Klitschko?
I'm not certain at this stage, I remember Haye losing badly and being KOed by a 40 year old Carl Thompson.
Perhaps Haye will become like Herbie Hide, brilliant at light heayweight, but gets crushed by the big boys(Riddick Bowe and Vitali Klitschko)

Here's the video of Haye vs Macrenelli fight:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu-ND04dEnM&e

You never know, Haye looked powerfull the other night, and he looks very fit and ready, i think he would give both Kitschkos a run for there money.
Like David Haye said in his interview, he could fight both in a year, it could be billed "David v Goliath x2" that could be mouthwatering for boxing that i reckon.

The thing I like about Haye is that he's never in a boring fight and he's willing to take risks, which is a big thing considering the amount of boxers that are over protected these days.

The fight on Saturday was a nice test for him, but I reckon he needs a few more fights before taking on any one of the Klitschko brothers. At this moment in time, I don't think he could beat either of them. But in late '09 / early '10, he could definitely beat Wladimir. But I think whatever happens he won't get past Vitali. Just too big, and he has something that his younger brother does not have - a rock solid chin. Vitali took some of Lennox Lewis' vicious bombs in their fight in '03 and he was still standing, and I don't buy that Haye punches harder than Lewis.

Having said that, I'll be tuning in to see if Haye can do it. I think winning a version of the heavyweight title is in his grasp, but becoming undisputed heavyweight champ might be a little too far a reach for him. But what a ride he'll take us on trying to achieve it!

The thing I like about Haye is that he's never in a boring fight and he's willing to take risks, which is a big thing considering the amount of boxers that are over protected these days.

The fight on Saturday was a nice test for him, but I reckon he needs a few more fights before taking on any one of the Klitschko brothers. At this moment in time, I don't think he could beat either of them. But in late '09 / early '10, he could definitely beat Wladimir. But I think whatever happens he won't get past Vitali. Just too big, and he has something that his younger brother does not have - a rock solid chin. Vitali took some of Lennox Lewis' vicious bombs in their fight in '03 and he was still standing, and I don't buy that Haye punches harder than Lewis.

Having said that, I'll be tuning in to see if Haye can do it. I think winning a version of the heavyweight title is in his grasp, but becoming undisputed heavyweight champ might be a little too far a reach for him. But what a ride he'll take us on trying to achieve it!

Great post fella need i say more, my thoughts on Haye are that he has got the world at his feet, he's a young exciting likable fella who can only go up at this moment in time.
If he picks his fights aswell as you predicted then as you say we could have a real British heavyweight to get behind in those early hours of Sunday mornings.
God ive missed the real fights big lads and big punches.

You never know, Haye looked powerfull the other night, and he looks very fit and ready, i think he would give both Kitschkos a run for there money.
Like David Haye said in his interview, he could fight both in a year, it could be billed "David v Goliath x2" that could be mouthwatering for boxing that i reckon.

Haye looks to be following the path of Herbie Hide, another fast, hard hitting and impressive heavyweight.

Hide was going great guns........until he ran into Riddick Bowe!

Don't get me wrong, I want Haye to well, but I just have sneeky feeling that Haye will struggle to withstand the punching power of the really big guys, just like Herbie Hide.

Rather ominously for Haye, Hide unlike Haye, was never regarded as having a suspect chin until he met Bowe.

Haye's own comment that he noticed the difference in power from Barrett's punches and cruiserweight punches doesn't bode well.

Sure Haye punches hard, but If you watch Barrett, he always seemed to get up off the canvas pretty easily, and seem more stunned than truly hurt by Haye's punches, again not a good sign when he goes in with men bigger and heavier than Barrett.

Some may argue that Wladimir has a glass jaw, but then again he was beaten badly by 2 really hard hitting heavyweights in Sanders and Brewster.
Sanders let's not forget almost had Vitali down in their fight in the first round.
I've never seen Vitali run away from a fighter like that when he got tagged by Sanders.
Then there was Brewster, he demolished Golota in 90 seconds!
Haye won't have the same fire power of either of these 2 guys (Sanders,Brewster).

I would also argue that there are a number of other heavies out there that all could prove too powerful for Haye.(Tua, Brewster,)
I may be proved wrong, but I just don't think Haye's performance against Barrett qualifies him to share the ring with either Klitschko at this stage or even within a year.

Haye looks to be following the path of Herbie Hide, another fast, hard hitting and impressive heavyweight.

Hide was going great guns........until he ran into Riddick Bowe!

Don't get me wrong, I want Haye to well, but I just have sneeky feeling that Haye will struggle to withstand the punching power of the really big guys, just like Herbie Hide.

Rather ominously for Haye, Hide unlike Haye, was never regarded as having a suspect chin until he met Bowe.

Haye's own comment that he noticed the difference in power from Barrett's punches and cruiserweight punches doesn't bode well.

Sure Haye punches hard, but If you watch Barrett, he always seemed to get up off the canvas pretty easily, and seem more stunned than truly hurt by Haye's punches, again not a good sign when he goes in with men bigger and heavier than Barrett.

Some may argue that Wladimir has a glass jaw, but then again he was beaten badly by 2 really hard hitting heavyweights in Sanders and Brewster.
Sanders let's not forget almost had Vitali down in their fight in the first round.
I've never seen Vitali run away from a fighter like that when he got tagged by Sanders.
Then there was Brewster, he demolished Golota in 90 seconds!
Haye won't have the same fire power of either of these 2 guys (Sanders,Brewster).

I would also argue that there are a number of other heavies out there that all could prove too powerful for Haye.(Tua, Brewster,)
I may be proved wrong, but I just don't think Haye's performance against Barrett qualifies him to share the ring with either Klitschko at this stage or even within a year.

I agree. Although Haye put Barrett down five times, one could argue that not none of those knockdowns Barrett struggled to get to his feet. Also, one knockdown was the result of a slip by Barrett but given as a knockdown. Richie Davies did give Haye the benefit of the doubt on a couple of occasions. He said Haye slipped when it was clear Barrett landed a punch on him and Haye went over. Not knocking Haye's performance, but Barrett himself is a small heavyweight (by today's standards).

Yes, Hide was doing well in the Bowe fight. But you could always sense that as soon as Bowe landed, that's all he needed to finish him off. Hide did have some success at Heavyweight, but he was forced to fight there as he was boiling himself down to make the 190lbs Cruiserweight limit. He was always giving up a 20-30lbs and more when he fought at Heavyweight. I could be wrong, but I'd guess Hide never weighed more that 215-220lbs for any of his Heavyweight fights. When the Cruiserweight limit got raised to 200lbs in '03 I believe, he found he could make the new Cruiserweight limit far easier.

Apart from the obvious with Haye's left hand being held too low (I supposes that's just the way he boxes), his footwork and balance seem a little off. He has quite a wide stance which doesn't help. He does slip quite often, and got nailed by Mormeck as he was off balance. But credit where credit's due as he came back and sparked him.

A couple of big punching guys for Haye to face before he chases a world title will give us a better indication of where he might be headed.

Haye looks to be following the path of Herbie Hide, another fast, hard hitting and impressive heavyweight.

Hide was going great guns........until he ran into Riddick Bowe!

Don't get me wrong, I want Haye to well, but I just have sneeky feeling that Haye will struggle to withstand the punching power of the really big guys, just like Herbie Hide.

Rather ominously for Haye, Hide unlike Haye, was never regarded as having a suspect chin until he met Bowe.

Haye's own comment that he noticed the difference in power from Barrett's punches and cruiserweight punches doesn't bode well.

Sure Haye punches hard, but If you watch Barrett, he always seemed to get up off the canvas pretty easily, and seem more stunned than truly hurt by Haye's punches, again not a good sign when he goes in with men bigger and heavier than Barrett.

Some may argue that Wladimir has a glass jaw, but then again he was beaten badly by 2 really hard hitting heavyweights in Sanders and Brewster.
Sanders let's not forget almost had Vitali down in their fight in the first round.
I've never seen Vitali run away from a fighter like that when he got tagged by Sanders.
Then there was Brewster, he demolished Golota in 90 seconds!
Haye won't have the same fire power of either of these 2 guys (Sanders,Brewster).

I would also argue that there are a number of other heavies out there that all could prove too powerful for Haye.(Tua, Brewster,)
I may be proved wrong, but I just don't think Haye's performance against Barrett qualifies him to share the ring with either Klitschko at this stage or even within a year.

Lets not forget that Holyfield was the last undisputed cruiserweight champion before, and he managed to take a lot of punishment from the heavyweights.

Lets not forget that Holyfield was the last undisputed cruiserweight champion before, and he managed to take a lot of punishment from the heavyweights.

True- and Haye counts Hollyfield as his hero and inspiration. Though I doubt Haye would still like to be fighting at 46.

I think Haye will be a breath of fresh air to what is a boring heavyweight scene. I agree with one of the posts that he will capture one (or maybe even two) belts, but not dominate the division. I think he could go up against someone like Matt Skelton next, it would be a good test. Skelton has great stamina for someone over 40 and can take a punch- if Haye can't deal with the likes of Skelton than he has plenty of work to do..yet.

Lets not forget that Holyfield was the last undisputed cruiserweight champion before, and he managed to take a lot of punishment from the heavyweights.

But Holyfield was an exceptional fighter, who had a granite chin, and huge neck muscles.

Unlike Haye, Holyfield was never beaten or knocked down at cruiserweight.

Haye has been knocked down 3 or 4 times already at cruiserweight.

Yes, Hide was doing well in the Bowe fight. But you could always sense that as soon as Bowe landed, that's all he needed to finish him off.

Apart from the obvious with Haye's left hand being held too low (I supposes that's just the way he boxes), his footwork and balance seem a little off. He has quite a wide stance which doesn't help. He does slip quite often, and got nailed by Mormeck as he was off balance.

I remember watching the Bowe vs Hide fight live (Showing me age!:gag:)

A few fights earlier I remember Bowe came to see Herbie Hide fight, and after Hide won the fight, Hide and Bowe were interviewed side by side.
Hide boasted to Bowe that he would be the fastest fighter that he had ever faced.
Bowe laughed and said to Herbie, that Holyfield was the fastest heavyweight he had faced, and that Hide wasn't a patch on Holyfield.

As to the fight, the first British tv commentators got very excited at Hide's early success, although I didn't share their enthusiam.
It was very noticable to me that Bowe wasn't putting much effort into firing back, and that was a sure indicator that Bowe was just allowing Hide to hit him, as if to say, let's she what you got kid.

From about the third round Bowe started to throw out his jab, and when the first one landed, the expression on Hide's face showed that Hide really felt Bowe's power for the first time.
It was all over bar the shouting from then on.

With Haye, I do agree that he might have a balance problem, and that again doesn't bode well should he get hit by a full blooded punch from any of the heavy hitters in the game.

David Haye on his heavyweight debut knocked out one of the top ten contenders. Without a doubt he is going to be the biggest thing to hit the heavyweight division in quite a while.

Until he gets hit on the chin, then he will be the biggest thing to hit the canvas.

Haye is a bit different to Hide in that he is a good boxer (sorry Herbie!).

Since the loss to Ashley he has adjusted his attitude and is now comfortable to take his time rather than going for the KO (unless his opponent is a sitting duck as Enzo was).

His problem with the heavies will be that they aren't actually as bad as the rumours would have us believe. Even with his china chin, Wlad may be a better boxer than Vitali. Peter and Chagaev are no mugs and Valuev's sheer size makes him a proposition.

Should be interesting!
ashley? do you mean thompson?