Total-Boxing Blog

This weekend see’s the much hyped, David vs Goliath bout take place in Nuremburg, Germany for the WBA Heavyweight Crown. While there is a World Title at stake, and alot of media attention, will this fight really capture the worlds imagination and get people interested in the heavyweight division once again?

The stellar division for the last 100 years, heavyweight boxing has always been in the public eye, and the star performers have always been household names. Every Tom, Dick and Harry knows names such as Muhamed Ali, Joe Louis, Mike Tyson, George Foreman and even Frank Bruno. In recent years however, we have seen a decline in the amount of decent talent coming through the division, and interest has slumped to almost nil in the states. The 90’s and 00’s has seen a rise in Eastern European fighters grace the stage for world title shots, with only Lennox Lewis reigning supreme above all. Since his departure however, no one seems to care anymore about the once glamourous division.

While the Klitschko brothers have both shown their class over the years, neither of them has caught the imagination of boxing fans outside of their home and adopted countries of Ukraine and Germany. Their textbook and overly cautious fighting style makes them boring to watch, and their reluctance to fight one another leaves the division without one clear leading star. Furthermore, with the big american men able to make easier money in other sports, the States have failed to produce a top heavyweight fighter and so interest over their, the unofficial centre of boxing, has stalled.

This weekends spectacle should bring more than just an intriguing contest of speed vs sheer size. Sure it has tongues wagging, with Valuev’s size advantage and the fact he’s never been knocked down in his career. Haye the brash cockey, quick talking slugger, who’s never been 12 rounds and KO’d 21 of his 22 victims. That alone is drama. But there is also a World Title on the line, and should the Londoner come out on top, perhaps a spark to ignite the faded heavyweight scene.

Haye’s persona, hunger to take on the very best and fighting style will be a much need breathe of fresh air in a divison, where over the last 10 years, weighing as much as possible seems to be the order of the day. Slow, plodding giants hugging each other in the middle of the ring is not what we want to see. David Haye could be the man to create waves in this divison, and he will also be closer to forcing one or both of the Brothers Klitschko into unification bouts.

Still, it is no certainty that Haye will succeed. He has his weaknesses. Most notably he has been down a few times in his career, and against much much smaller men than Valuev. The Beast from the East does not punch his weight however, and Haye’s superior speed should be enough to see him avoid all telling shots the giant throws. Haye’s main concern could be the fact this fight is taking place in Valuev’s back yard. And in Germany, controversial (or outright wrong) decisions are common.

Haye knows about the potential decision issues, and even if he dances rings around the big man, he could still miss out on the win. He is gunning for a spectacular knockout, and thats a huge ask. It is maybe the one thing though, that will inspire the heavyweights of the future, and get the boxing public turned back on to the heavyweight scene.