Its been about 8 to 9 years since I remember watching a heavyweight title fight with actual significance. Ever since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003, we were left with a king-less kingdom that had no heir in sight. Out of the many fighters that where left behind by Lewis, the Klitschkos took the ball and ran with it. They own 3 of the 4 alphabet titles in the division, steamrolling through every opponent put in front of them and to make matters even more messy, refuse to fight each other thus leaving us with a two-headed heavyweight champion.
Now we are a couple of days away from a huge fight night. Excitement and anticipation is at a fever pitch, the fight is being billed as one of the biggest of the year, and it’s between two heavyweights! The question that I’ve been asking myself every since this fight what signed is, how did we go from what appeared to be a dead division, to it having one of the most anticipated fights of the year? Take a look at this answer to this question and more, and then get ready to enjoy the July 2nd fireworks.
David Haye’s Move to Heavyweight and Fight Buildup
Ever since David Haye decided to jump from Cruiserweight to Heavyweight, he’s been antagonizing the Klitschkos. He first started by calling them out and publicly berating them. Then he infamously started wearing a t-shirt that depicted himself in the ring with both the Klitschko’s decapitated heads. The last one got the attention of the brothers and a seemingly very personal war started, with Wladimir expressing his interest for a showdown with Haye. So here is a contender who has basically already talked himself into a world title shot, and hasn’t fought at heavyweight yet, his first fight against Monte Barrett would come later on. The fight really started taking off after he defeated Monte Barrett, and signed on to fight Wladimir in 2009.
The war of words became more intense and more personal and the public was really starting to notice. The fight at this point was already highly anticipated, even though Haye lacked heavyweight experience. However, Haye, citing back problems, dropped out of the fight. Later it was rumored that he was in negotiations to face Vitali Klitschko for a title, only to leave that brother hanging and fight Nikolai Valuev for the remaining title not held by a Klitschko. With the Klitschko’s already fuming over Haye’s antics and Haye’s eventual wins over Valuev and John Ruiz, the fight reached must-see levels.
The Significance of Klitschko vs. Haye
Had this fight happened when it was originally supposed to in 2009, the significance wouldn’t have been that great. Haye would’ve just been another up and comer fresh out of cruiserweight that the Klitschkos would feed on. Now though, Haye has some wins at heavyweight and a belt, and has built himself into a legitimate threat at heavyweight. He has the fastest hands in the division, some of the best footwork, and good power, which makes him a threat to the Klitschkos, especially Wladimir. Wladimir is known for having a suspect chin and mentally breaking down in fights, like he did with Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster, and it’s something a fighter like Haye can easily exploit.
Now back to the question, how significant is this fight? The answer is very significant. If Wladimir wins, the Klitschkos complete the monopoly on the Heavyweight division, eliminating their greatest threat and earning the 4th and last alphabet belt. If Haye wins, it marks the end of the Klitschko era, the rise of a new star in boxing and possibly the rise of the heavyweights once again. Haye is very marketable as an action packed fighter who cleans up well and is very articulate. Not to mention a Haye win could spark at least 2 or 3 more good heavyweight fights with Wladimir and brother Vitali, this of course assuming he doesn’t retire like he wants to.
Despite also being a champion and bringing a belt with him to the fight, Haye offers much more than that. He is essentially the spark the Heavyweight division has been without for the past 10 years. The Klitschkos have been dominant fighters, Vitali has the best KO percentage in the sport, but their style is so mechanical and their personalities are so dry that they lack excitement. David Haye is completely the opposite, he is as unpredictable in the ring as he is on the microphone. The fact that he’s generated this much excitement for a fight when he’s only been a heavyweight for 3 mostly uneventful years proves that love him or hate him, fans want to see more of David Haye.
The Bottom Line
The heavyweight division has been the base of the majority of boxing history, and the division’s success or failure impacts the sport in a major way. When the division is down, the sport is considered on the decline; when the division is flourishing the sport is on the way up.
When Babe Ruth and the Yankees were winning one World Series after another, Jack Demspey and Gene Tunney were selling out massive stadiums. When the world went to war against the Nazis, Joe Lois went to war with Max Schmeling in what would be a symbolic defeat to the Nazi party. When America was demanding civil rights, Muhammad Ali became the face of the movement.
While in the past years we’ve learned not to lean on the heavyweight division as much, it always feels like a piece is missing. We’re always looking at that division, even if nothing is happening. We look because we’re waiting, well my friends, come July 2nd the wait is over, the big boys are back to play.
If you’re a boxing fan, it is your duty to be excited about this fight. It’s been close to 10 years since the heavyweights have been in a significant fight. It’s been almost 10 years since the fans actually clamored for a specific heavyweight fight. This fight has it all, drama both inside and outside the ring, a talkative, brash young man in David Haye, a calculated, methodical fighting machine in Wladimir Klitschko, heavyweight supremacy on the line and bad blood between the fighters.
