Is Haye a being a disgraceful world champion?
A lot of boxing fans resented David Haye (24-1, 22 KOs), even when there wasn’t a logical reason for it. Now there is. Haye, the WBA heavyweight champion, has more or less officially announced he’s avoiding legitimate competition.
Today it was confirmed that Haye will defend his title against European champion Audley Harrison (27-4, 20 KOs) after the two participated in verbal blows and challenges for the better part of a month. First it was Harrison who challenged Haye, coming off a spectacular win over Michael Sprott. Then it was Haye who responded in a twitter video link that “Fraudley” should shut his mouth and that in a fight he would get “completely destroyed and annihilated.”
The fact is, though, that regardless of who destroys who, Haye will be the overwhelming favourite and a fight with Harrison won’t do much to market his brand or increase his selling value.
Harrison, a former Olympic gold medalist, has never lived up to his expectations and is now 38 and lucky to have been given the title shot.
With four losses to mediocre opponents, Harrison has beaten all of nobody at the world class level in the heavyweight division. And though European champion, Harrison is ranked 5th in the British heavyweight rankings, and not even in the top 40 in the world according to Boxrec. He has knockout power, but his skills and his spirit are seriously suspect, as is his chin.
All the same, the one to attack in this bout isn’t Harrison, it’s Haye. Why is a guy who calls himself the heavyweight champion taking on such unworthy competition? Anyone who does a little bit of research into the heavyweight division can see that although bereft of talent, there are at least a few guys Haye would earn much more respect to fight. If Haye wants to impress the British public, why not take on the undefeated young prospect Tyson Fury? Better yet, why not take on any of the top ten of the heavyweight division? Why not really put the ball in the court and take on No.4 rated in the world, Tomasz Adamek (who recently defeated one-time prospect Michael Grant)?
No, Haye doesn’t want any real competition. He’s comfortable with his title, and sadly, doesn’t seem to be willing to put it on the line. Maybe it’s because secretly he can’t. Who knows? But whatever the case, the fact is that he’s avoided the Klitschkos and all other legitimate competition in his class. He’s chalked up failed negotiations to money disputes, and that may be true, but when you really want to fight someone, the fight can generally be made if the qualifications are there. The trouble is Haye has his belt to worry about, and also seems more concerned about money in the pot than lasting fame. But if as he says the Klitschkos haven’t given him financial incentive to fight him, that’s because they don’t have to. They have earned their position, dominating the divisions for years now, while he hasn’t. What has he done to prove he dominates the heavyweight division but beat Monte Barrett, Nikolay Valuev and John Ruiz, guys who have a combined 15 losses?
There’s also the recent fact that Haye said he is going to retire by October of next year, seemingly closing the door on any prospective fight but maybe one or two until then. How does he expect fans to like this? Perhaps if he had accomplished a great deal in the ring. But all he’s been able to do is show he is a legitimate contender. One of the simplest truths of boxing today is that a title doesn’t make you a champion.
Tags: