His promises were not fulfilled, his boasts turned out to be empty, his taunts futile, his predictions mistaken. So where now for David Haye?
Haye is not the kind to end his career in failure. He wanted to unify the heavyweight titles, to ride into the sunset in a blaze of glory, and now that scenario seems very remote. Haye has been exposed as a very fine cruiserweight who failed to make the step up to heavyweight. It turned out to be an excursion that began with a wrong turning.
There is no disgrace in that, for many great light-heavyweights and cruiserweights in the past also failed to make the transition, Billy Conn, Archie Moore and Bob Foster among them. The problem for Haye is that his self-promotion has been so relentless and often obnoxious that his real worth as a fighter has been undermined. He will be widely deemed a failure and a braggart. The only way to restore his credibility among the big men would be to win a return match with Wladimir Klitschko or to defeat his brother, Vitali, who holds the WBC belt, the only one not now held by Wladimir.
Since Wladimir will feel he has proved his point, and is essentially a cautious man, a contest with Vitali would appear to be Haye’s best hope.
But Vitali is scheduled to meet Tomasz Adamek of Poland in Warsaw in September and Haye has insisted for some years that he will hang up his gloves before his 31st birthday, which falls on October 13.
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There is much scepticism about Haye’s self-imposed career deadline. The history of boxing is littered with those who have said they would get out in good time, only to linger well beyond their youth and pay a terrible price. If Haye were offered a bout with Vitali Klitschko in November, a chance of salvation, would he really decline?
Even before he turned professional, Haye spoke about his desire to emulate Evander Holyfield, who beat all-comers in the cruiserweight division before moving up in weight and eventually unifying the heavyweight titles by memorably defeating Mike Tyson in 1996, stopping him in 11 rounds. In the return fight, Tyson was disqualified for biting Holyfield’s ears.
But while Holyfield’s historical achievement inspired Haye, and may tempt him to take on another Klitschko, subsequent events should act as warning to him. Holyfield, who is approaching 50 years of age, is still fighting, still believing he can unify the titles before retiring.
Furthermore, Haye’s approach to the business of boxing has always been commercial and carefully planned. Haye and his trainer-manager Adam Booth, have formed their own promotional organisation and increased their revenues with their own merchandising and publishing. They have taken control of their own affairs. From the beginning, the idea was to take over the cruiserweight division, move up to make some big money and get out. It is a plan from which Haye has never deviated.
Furthermore, Vitali is an even more dangerous proposition than his brother. Unlike Wladimir, who likes boxing but doesn’t necessarily relish fighting, Vitali has always had an appetite for combat. He is a hard, uncompromising man who does not in the least mind taking a punch if by doing so he has an opportunity to land one of his own. One of his trademark moves is to allow an opponent to land his jab while simultaneously throwing a right lead aimed at the top of the opponent’s head. In short, Haye against Vitali Klitschko would be war.
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If Vitali Klitschko keeps his September rendezvous with Adamek, it will be hard for Haye to find any opponent who will be deemed worthwhile by the public. Alexander Povetkin, a Russian who is based in the United States and trained by Teddy Atlas, who once looked after Mike Tyson, is probably the best around. He won gold in the 2004 Olympics and is similar to Haye in size and is unbeaten in 21 professional contests, but invariably against modest opposition.
Since Haye was the only credible opponent for the Klitschkos, his defeat means that heavyweight boxing is once again moribund. Even Wladimir Klitschko’s eminent trainer, Emanuel Steward, has admitted that the “division is awful, awful”. In a decade the Klitschkos have cleaned it out, beating the older fighters, the younger men, the lot. Now Haye, who at least brought some razzmatazz, has been vanquished as well.
The only meaningful heavyweight fight is the one that will not happen: Klitschko v Klitschko. The brothers have always been close, with Vitali taking a protective role. They did spar as young men, but as they were so competitive, neither would yield and Wladimir ended up with a broken leg. Their mother will not allow them to fight again, and neither of them wants to in any case.