David Haye has fists that have earned him the nickname, "The Hayemaker," since only one opponent in 22 victories has gone the distance with him.But the London resident is known by opponents as much for his verbal taunts and jabs outside of the ring as he is for the actual bombs he throws inside of it.
Haye, for example, once wore T-shirts sporting the decapitated likenesses of the siblings, heavyweight champions Wladimir Klitschko (IBF and WBO) and Vitali Klitschko (WBC), during promotions of scheduled bouts with each that never materialized.
And during the buildup to Saturday's matchup with WBA titlist, Nikolay Valuev, of Russia, Haye's vocal assault on the largest heavyweight champion in history have been equally relentless.
Called by Haye, "a circus freak, a zombie and a robot," the seven-foot Valuev literally steps over the ropes instead of through them because he says "it's easier."
In the meantime, Haye, who pulled out of the fight with Wladimir due to an injury, and then backed out of negotiations with Vitali to face Valuev, has been a hit while lampooning his rival in the British media.
"I want to make him so angry that he doesn't just want to beat me, but to kill me," Haye has said of Valuev, who weighed 310 pounds for his last fight in December compared to the 6-3 challenger's 215.
"[Valuev] is the biggest heavyweight champion in boxing history, and boxing's been around a long time. But I think that I'm making him angry, and that he really wants to do a number on me," said Haye, 29.
"I feel that will work to my advantage. He's big, he's strong, but he's not got the best skills in the world," said Haye. "I need him to give me openings because his arms are so long. I need him to bring the arms out and to try and get at me so that I can get inside and go to work."
On Saturday night Valuev will have a nearly 100-pound advantage in weight over Haye, having tipped the scales at 316 compared to 218 for his nemesis on Friday.
But the man nicknamed "The Russian Giant" claims he is unaffected by Haye's comments.
"He can say what he wants. I don't care about it. I will give my answer in the ring," said Valuev, 36, who is 50-1 with 34 knockouts.
"A lot of opponents have tried to provoke me, but nobody has ever succeeded," said Valuev. "I don't care about his statements. Needless to say, I am very confident of success."
Haye (22-1, 21 KOs) is facing Valuev in Nuremberg, Germany, after having risen from the cruiserweight (200 pounds) division. Evander Holyfield is the only former cruiserweight to win a heavyweight crown, having dethroned Buster Douglass in October of 1990 in three rounds.
Haye won the WBA cruiserweight crown with a seventh-round knockout of Jean Marc Mormeck in November of 2007, but then dropped it to dethrone WBC and WBO king Enzo Maccarinelli in two rounds in March of 2008, handing him only his second loss in 30 bouts and stopping him for the first time in his career.
"The cruiserweight division is solid, but it's not like it's a talented division top to bottom," said Doug Fisher, Managing Editor of RingTV.com. "Haye could get away with his flaws fighting those guys. He was able to find the tip of their chins and put them down."
By the time he enters the ring against Valuev, Haye will have been out of the ring for nearly 12 months, having scored a fifth-round knockout of faded, former heavyweight contender Monte Barrett on November 15.
Valuev will not have seen action since December, when he decisioned former four-time champion Holyfield 116-112, 115-114, and 114-114 -- a loss the 47-year-old ex-world titlist disputes even today.
"Unlike a lot of people, I didn't think Evander Holyfield was robbed when he fought Valuev. I scored it a draw, as I recall. Holyfield simply faded too badly down the stretch, but the lateral movement he showed that day is the key that Haye will surely use," said Kieran Mulvaney, of ESPN.com and Reuters.
"Haye is the faster man and better boxer, and has far more than Holyfield does right now," said Mulvaney. "Assuming Haye's stamina lasts --which is an issue -- I think he'll wind up a points winner in a fight that probably will not be too aesthetically pleasing."
Although Haye has a nine-fight winning streak that includes eight knockouts, he has gone 12 rounds only once during a lopsided decision over Ismail Abdoul in July of 2006.
Haye has been eight rounds and nine rounds (once each) in stoppages of previously unbeaten fighters, Lasse Johansen and Giacobbe Fragomeni, respectively, in March and July of 2006.
Valuev, meanwhile, has won four straight, grounding out route-going victories over previously unbeaten Jean Francois Bergeron as well as former world champs Sergey Lyakhovich, John Ruiz and Holyfield, all in succession.
And while Valuev's lone defeat was by majority decision to then-unbeaten, Ruslan Chagaev in April of 2007, Haye's only setback raises far more questions.
For in September of 2004, Haye was stopped in five rounds by a then-40-year-old, Carl Thompson, who entered their matchup with a record of 32-6 that included being knocked out five times.
Fischer points to Haye's last victory over Barrett as an example of why he believes the former cruiserweight titlist "is unproven as a heavyweight."
"David Haye put Barrett down five times, and Barrett got up. The first four knockdowns, Barrett got up with a clear enough head to swing back and to give David Haye something to worry about," said Fischer.
"I don't question Haye's power at cruiserweight, but I do question it a little bit at heavyweight," said Fischer. "I also question chin, as most people do, since he's been knocked out and he's been dropped more than a few times."
The difference between Valuev and Haye has as much do to with relative technique as it does with size, Fischer said.
"One thing that I'm impressed with in Valuev is his balance for a man that big. He does get hit, and you can throw punches around his guard and land punches. But Valuev's got good balance and decent technique, throws a nice jab, his right hand is not bad, and he can block and counter semi-effectively," said Fischer.
"If somebody gets into a clinch with him, Valuev has the size and the mass to walk them backward or to tire them out," said Fischer. "Haye willingly falls into clinches, and I believe that his stamina will catch up to him on the way to being stopped late."
FanHouse agrees with Fischer, and, so, the pick here is Valuev, but by decision.
