Bomber Bellew Blasts Away The Final Fragments of David Haye’s Career…

ringsidereport.com
By Faisal “Fayz” Masood

On 14 July 2012, David Haye put on an explosive performance as he ended his fight with Dereck Chisora in the 5th round. The fight would also put an end to Haye’s career, leaving him as a two weight world champion with a record of 26-2 24 KO’s and many believing he was one of Britain’s greatest ever champions. Tony Bellew, at the time wasn’t far removed from suffering his first career loss against Nathan Cleverley and was the current reigning British Light Heavyweight champion with a record of 17-1 11 KO’s.

No one at the time would have predicted that less than 6yrs later the pair would be fighting eachother as heavyweights, not once but twice – and no one would have predicted that the winner of both fights would have been Tony Bellew and not David Haye, both victories by way of TKO.

As David Haye was stopped on his feet last Saturday night in round 5, it finally confirmed to everyone that Haye was nowhere near close to being the fighter he was back in 2012. The fight against Chisora was a Haye aged 31, his next fight was 3 and a half years later in 2016 aged 35. Hayes opponents for his two comeback fights were against fighters who were not of any note, and easily blasted them out in 1 and 2 rounds respectively. Paying close attention was Tony Bellew, just eight days after Haye won his second comeback fight, Bellew was crowned the WBC Cruiserweight champion with his round three knock out of Ilunga Makabu infront of his home fans in Goodison Park, Liverpool.

Just months later when Bellew retained his title with another round three knock out, this time of David Hayes friend BJ Flores, the gauntlet was finally thrown down by Bellew who challenged David Haye and the circus like build up to the 1st fight began.

Despite Bellew’s victory against the odds in the first bout, there were still many doubters who believed Bellew really only won due to the injury sustained by Haye during the bout. A ruptured achilles at a point in the fight where Haye was on top turned the fight upside down and Bellew eventually came out as winner with an 11th round TKO against a one legged Haye.

So when time came for the rematch, long after Haye had suffered another injury cancelling the original date towards the end of 2017, many fans and pundits alike still weren’t quite convinced that Bellew would win this time around. David Haye did not train properly for the first fight they said, Haye underestimated Bellew, Haye has a new trainer, he has fully recovered from his injuries. Bellew though wasn’t listening to any of this. Bellew predicted he would beat Haye again and this time he would beat him easier than he did in the first fight.

If David Haye had fooled fans and pundits alike for his first two comeback fights and his first fight with Bellew, well it was all laid bare in this fight. As the rematch began, with backdrops of repeat or revenge, it very quickly eroded into a one sided roasting. Haye fell apart in round three and Bellew finished him off in round five, in between were three knock downs, all suffered by Haye. Not only had Hayes skills left him, but his punch resistance too.

Haye was a shadow of himself, a fighter who relied on speed and reflexes found out those are the two traits which leave you the quickest. Taking three and a half years off in your 30’s was never going to end well yet everyone wanted to believe Haye was still capable of becoming a world class fighter again. Unfortunately for Haye the game has moved on and so has Hayes body, unable to keep up with the demands of the game when it comes to battling higher level opponents. Haye was essentially fighting a blown up cruiserweight, sure the same could be said of Haye himself but he was a world champion at heavyweight, to be beaten by a man twice who had never competed at heavyweight before shows just how much Haye had regressed in his time off. David Haye says he has yet to make a decision on his career, but his performance has made the decision for him. Two losses in succession to a Cruiserweight champion means the big names he was seeking are now lost on him, the big money fights have now disappeared and all that’s left is for Haye to either retire, or to try and squeeze out one last pay day by perhaps trying to build a grudge match with a domestic rival, such as rekindling the rivalry with Dereck Chisora but this time the public won’t be buying into it.

For Tony Bellew, he is playing the smart man’s game, boxing is about business nowadays, and having called out and beaten David Haye twice, securing his two biggest pay days against a fighter making a comeback in his 30’s, Bellew is continuing the trend by challenging two other fighters who have been inactive of late, former Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former super middleweight and light heavyweight king Andre Ward. Bellews mindset and confidence is at an all time high, he believes he could win those fights and is well aware that winning is often about timing, Bellew is trying to fight greats such as Ward at a weight Ward has never competed at and at a time Ward has been retired, and to fight Fury after a long period of inactivity, hoping that rust will get the better of Fury rather than Bellew’s skills as well as knowing despite his size, Fury is not seen as a big puncher, the one thing Bellew fears in a heavyweight is their power, that would not be his concern against Fury.

Bellew may be pushing his limits here and more likely will be a return to the cruiserweight division to fight the winner of the World Boxing Super Series, battling Ward is probably best left to the Creed movies and fighting Fury would be a painful experience for the ‘Bomber’ but none can argue that Bellews career has gone from strength to strength and he deserves credit for his dismantling of David Haye and deserves credit for resurrecting his career after the loss at light heavyweight to Adonis Stevenson. Haye, like so many other boxers before him, has fallen into the trap of believing he had one last fight in him, maybe now the two losses will convince him that despite the bad ending, he enjoyed an admirable career and was a world class fighter with more ups than downs, the time is right now for Haye to move onto the next chapter of his life and concentrate on his own boxing company helping to promote the fighters of tomorrow.