All boxers turn professional for one reason and one reason alone – the money. And there has always been plenty of ‘paper’ in the fight game for those who could put butts in the seats and fill an arena.
However, ‘greatness’ and ‘money’ don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand.
Donnie LaLonde, a bleach-blonde boxer with a good right hand and not much of a left once made $5 million for one night’s work when he faced Sugar Ray Leonard in 1988. LaLonde will never be considered a great fighter. He just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
No, ‘greatness’ in boxing is reserved for those who win the hearts of fans by competing in epic battles inside the ring. In the last decade alone fans were treated to an incredible trilogy featuring Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward and, more recently, the four life-and-death battles between Israel Vazquez and Raul Marquez.
The participants themselves don’t even have to be among the best in their division. Sometimes the only difference between being enshrined in the Hall of Fame in Canastota and being all but forgotten is finding the right opponent.
David Haye vs. the All-Time Greats
This was certainly on the mind of World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion David Haye when Sky Sports caught up with the powerful, charismatic Brit in Miami Beach in February.
Maybe it was the idyllic scenery, the sun setting over the Atlantic, or the feel of a relaxing ocean breeze after a day of strenuous workouts. Whatever the reason, Haye let down his guard and opened up to former fighter and Sky announcer Johnny Nelson during a recent hour-long special on the champ.
The 30-year-old Haye has spent the past month in Miami Beach training at the famous 5th Street Gym – the same space where a young Muhammad Ali toiled during his early career and honed his skills for his title-winning effort over Sonny Liston in 1964. Haye’s ‘pre-training camp’ regiment is designed to keep the Bermondsey-native sharp as he looks ahead to defending his WBA title at the O2 Arena in London in May.
Exactly who he will be facing is expected to be determined this week.
This past November, the World Boxing Association mandated that Haye face the organization’s number-one contender and former WBA champion Ruslan Chagaev. However, Chagaev, who has tested positive for Hepatitis B in the past, must first send his medical records to the British Boxing Board of Control. If the Board determines Chagaev still carries the virus, he won’t be allowed to compete in England.
If that is the case, the WBA has hinted it will mandate Haye defend against the undefeated 2004 Olympic Gold medalist Alexander Povetkin instead. Povetkin is currently rated number two by the organization.
But when Nelson caught up with Haye, the fighter – who has won titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight and made millions in the process – seemed resigned to the fact that he was never going to make it to Canastota.
“I know that I’m never going to go down as an all-time great,” Haye surprisingly admitted to Nelson. “The opponents just aren’t there for me to be an all-time great. Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ken Norton … you’ve got all these guys who’ve had these amazing fights. Lennox had those fights with Holyfield and Tyson.
“(Great champions) need the trilogies, these big rivalries.”
Haye says at the moment the only rivalry he has is with Wladimir Klitschko, although the two haven’t stepped in the ring and settled matters yet.
“But I’d have loved to have boxed in the era of Muhammad Ali and George Foreman,” he continued. “I’m about the same size as them. Whether I could hang with those guys is a whole different story. Those guys, in my opinion, are the greatest. They had it tough. They boxed every couple of weeks at some stages in their career. We can be a little softer now. Times were harder then because you had such great competition.
“Maybe I’d have been a little too soft,” Haye finally added, as if talking to himself. “I don’t know. But I’d have liked to have tested myself against the greatest.”
Haye on Povetkin: ‘I Thought I Would Knock Him Out’
As an amateur, Haye never had to concern himself with finding quality opponents. In the unpaid ranks, the two best fighters who enter a tournament tend to make it to the finals. There are no promoters, television networks or side deals that derail those matches. The only thing that can prevent the best from meeting is a peculiar decision or an injury.
Unfortunately, the latter is exactly what prevented Haye and Povetkin from fighting in Croatia in 2001 when both were amateurs.
“Povetkin is a very good fighter,” Haye told Nelson. “He’s an Olympic champion. He’s a guy I was actually (scheduled) to fight in the Pura Box-Cup in Croatia. He had two fights. He won his two bouts on points. I knocked out both of my guys in the first round. So we were due to fight the next day, but he pulled out.”
Records indicate that when Povetkin failed to show up for the final, Haye was awarded the Gold medal.
“I thought I would knock him out,” Haye added. “As it was (Povetkin) pulled out and then moved up to super heavyweight directly after that, so it (a fight between us) never happened.”
However, that doesn’t mean the two heavyweights haven’t spent quality time together. Haye also spoke to Nelson about the hours he spent alone with Povetkin in Italy at the Italia Box Cup Roma tournament in 2002.
“We both boxed in Italy as well,” Haye explained. “I boxed in the second to last (bout of the day). He boxed last. We had five or six hours to kill before (our fights). It was a sunny day. He didn’t speak English. I didn’t speak Russian. So we both sat on the grass outside the stadium, and we talked to each other in ‘sign’ language (gesturing with our hands). So we hung out for a few hours there. I beat the guy in the finals and won the gold medal. He won the gold medal at super heavyweight. And here we are. We could end up having a fight together.”
And what if it is Chagaev?
“He’s a very tricky customer,” Haye said of the 32-year-old Uzbekistan native, sounding less excited. “He’s only lost one fight. I knew him from the amateurs. He’s a very good fighter. He beat Felix Savon. He’s beat some real great fighters over the years. I remember watching him, I believe, in Houston, Texas, in 1999 in the world championships. I’ve seen him fight in tournaments around the world. He’s very seasoned and very tough. He got beat by Wladimir. It’s his only loss. And people forget he took that fight on two weeks’ notice. He was coming off the beach. They phoned him. He was on holiday with his family and he came in. He went to the tenth or eleventh round and retired on his stool.
“(Chagaev) didn’t look great that night, but I wouldn’t take him for granted,” Haye insists. “No way.”
Haye vs. Wladimir and Vitali: ‘They Want the Fight, But They Don’t’
As Haye trains in Miami Beach and awaits a ruling by the British Boxing Board of Control and the WBA on Chagaev’s status, fans posting on boxing message boards around the world continue to comment on “The Hayemaker’s” failure to secure a match with Wladimir Klitschko this year.
In January, the boxers appeared ready to sign an agreement. But Klitschko balked and opted instead to face the talented but limited British Heavyweight Champion Derek Chisora in April.
“I’ve done the whole thing ... trying to embarrass them (Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko) into fights, and it doesn’t work,” Haye said, when pressed by Nelson. “They want the fight, but they don’t want the fight. He (Wladimir) didn’t like getting knocked out by Corrie Sanders. He didn’t like fighting someone who is fast, somebody who can punch, somebody who can move away from him. He likes fighting (stationary) guys like Derek Chisora.”
But Haye is still dreaming of finding that 'special' opponent who will help elevate him to the next level and ensure he is remembered alongside the likes of Ali, Foreman and Lewis. When asked who he would like to fight if it was up to him, Haye was clear.
“In an ideal world it would be Wladimir in the summer and then Vitali in September or early October,” he said almost immediately. “That’s in an ideal world. But we don’t live in an ideal world. In a realistic world, I have a mandatory – whether that is Chagaev or Povetkin. We’re working on that at the moment. I wish I could give you an answer of who it’s going to be. I don’t know myself. And then, obviously, I want to fight in September or October against, I think, hopefully, Wladimir.
“If he wants to do it, let’s do it,” Haye added. “I’m ready.”
But if boxing history is any indicator, great trilogies – like the Gatti-Ward series -- often begin with a single fight that isn’t expected to be anything special when first announced and then surprises everyone. So while Haye dreams of fights with the Klitschko brothers, he may find that the straight-ahead style of Alexander Povetkin results in a more entertaining matchup.
We’ll all find out in May. Haye does seem genuinely excited by the prospect.
“It’s a shame (Povetkin) didn’t show up to fight (in Croatia) because it would’ve been nice to see who was the main man,” Haye said. “But it definitely makes a nice story if somehow (Povetkin) does manage to maneuver himself and he becomes my mandatory.
“If there is a problem with Chagaev and Povetkin becomes my mandatory, I think it will be a great fight.”
Read More
Universum Tells David Haye: 'Ruslan Chagaev Is Not Contagious' (Part 1)
Universum Tells David Haye: 'Ruslan Chagaev Is Not Contagious (Part 2)
Wladimir Klitschko Cancels Derek Chisora Fight, Eyes David Haye
