David Haye: Why so Quiet?
Written by: Jasveer Singh Gill
Having stormed the heavyweight division, the last thing we expected a year after becoming world champion is to read David Haye may fight Audley Harrison.
To his credit David Haye responded exactly how we would have hoped, tweeting “Shut the fcuk up, Fraudley. If somehow we ever do fight, that career-high payday you crave won’t cover your medical bills. Pipe down.”
But the mere fact that Audley Harrison is now an option for David Haye speaks volumes about how his heavyweight crusade is stalling. The worst part of it all is that Haye, for a man who was dominating TV screens and sports pages when he was chasing a heavyweight title, has now gone remarkably quiet. Just when we thought the heavyweight division was going to get interesting for the first time in years, the man bringing all the excitement goes quiet on us.
Having won the title by winning a majority decision against Russian giant Nikolai Valuev, Haye then comfortably defeated Johnny Ruiz in his mandatory defence. So then we all expected him to face the supreme rulers of the heavyweight division, the Klitschko brothers. Instead both brothers have fights scheduled for September and October, whilst Haye is listed on websites such as boxrec.com as fighting Harrison in November.
Haye came into the division claiming he did not want to stick around and was looking to dethrone the Klitschko’s as quickly as he could, hoping to retire in 2011, having become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. The chances of that happening now are very slim.
Audley Harrison, to his credit, has seized the opportunity remarkably well. Harrison is on his umpteenth return from the brink of boxing abyss, thanks to him winning the British Prizefighter tournament and then following that up by winning the European title with a stunning 12th round knockout of Michael Sprott. That was a big win not only because Sprott had previously knocked him out but also because Harrison had suffered an injured right shoulder and was fighting using only his left hand.
With all this hype behind him Harrison has taken it upon himself to challenge Haye, repeatedly calling him out over twitter and via newspapers. Harrison even called for Haye to “man up” and fight him, saying he would knock him out if they fought.
While the general British public would indeed watch this fight, guaranteeing the huge payday (£10million according to Harrison’s promoter) that Harrison craves, real boxing fans will not be fooled. Harrison is a man who genuinely looks afraid when he fights, maybe because he knows he has a glass-jaw or perhaps he is just a very cautious fighter. The result of this though, is that Harrison has lost four times against modest opposition, with his last loss coming against Martin Rogan, a 37 year old former cab driver who at the time had only fought nine times.
There is no doubt that Harrison, with his 6ft 5in frame and undoubted power, could pose some danger to any fighter. But in truth if Haye fights him it would be a huge step backwards. This fight may make Haye some money but it would seriously detract from the thought that he is trying to create a legacy as a great heavyweight. Better options would be the likes of Alexander Povetkin or Tomasz Adamek, who are both great prospects in the heavyweight division.
Without Haye – never one to shy away from giving the press a quote or two – telling us why he did not fight the Klitschko’s immediately after the Ruiz fight, or at least telling us what he has planned, the boxing public will being to make their own assumptions. And the latest one is that Haye is actually going to give Harrison a shot at his title. If it is true then it would be better for Haye to remain silent, because nothing he can say will convince us about this choice of opponent.
