David haye was comprehensively beaten by Wladimir Klitschko in their heavyweight unification contest in Hamburg last night.
Outpointed by a wide margin and unable to deal with the Ukrainian’s power, reach and speed, Haye seemed to fight without strategy or intelligence. He was brave enough but he was outclassed. At least Haye lasted the distance. He was beaten on points, with the three ringside judges making Klitschko the winner by eight rounds, 10 rounds and four rounds. That last judge appeared somewhat generous to Haye, whose most notable success was managing to hurt Klitschko in the final round, when it was too late.
Although Haye had beaten all-comers at cruiserweight, he made clear that failure last night, when he was giving away more than two stone and substantial reach advantage to Klitschko, would mean that all his previous achievements in the ring would be forgotten.
And fail he did, losing his World Boxing Association heavyweight title and allowing Klitschko, who already held three versions of the title, to claim supremacy in the division. Haye is no shrinking violet. He secured the fight largely by insulting Klitschko and his brother, Vitali, who holds yet another version of the title. Haye’s insistence that the Klitschko brothers were boring champions and that he would become the saviour of heavyweight boxing by restoring glamour and excitement fell flat. He talked a good game but failed to deliver. Afterwards, Haye blamed his poor performance on a toe injured in training but there was really no excuse. He was up against a bigger boxer with a better plan.
Like many others before him, Haye failed to make the transition to heavyweight, was unable to match Klitschko’s technique and paid the price. What must have surprised Haye and his trainer, Adam Booth, was not the power of Klitschko’s left-hand jab, but its speed. Most pundits had assumed that Haye would be the faster man but Klitschko, unbeaten in seven years, showed what a fine athlete he is and what a master of his profession.
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The future for Haye must be uncertain. He has long insisted that he will hang up his gloves before his 31st birthday, which is on October 13. Having been beaten by one of the Klitschko brothers, his dream of unifying all the heavyweight titles by beating both Klitschkos has surely evaporated. The shame is that Haye was an excellent cruiserweight champion who is now likely to be remembered more for his shortcomings last night.