Britain’s David Haye just managed to pry the WBA Heavyweight Championship from the gigantic hands of Nikolai Valuev with a tight majority decision on Saturday in Nuremburg, Germany.
A former cruiserweight, Haye gave up every physical advantage possible to Valuev, including seven inches in reach, nine inches in height and a whopping 98 pounds on the scales. With Valuev being the biggest heavyweight champion in history, the fight was dubbed “David vs. Goliath.” Never had a billing been more accurate.
Having scored knockouts in 21 of 22 wins, Haye was expected to try to bomb his oversized opponent out. Instead, Haye, who went out of his way to insult not only Valuev’s boxing ability but also his physical appearance, fought a disciplined fight. He boxed every round but the twelfth – when he stunned Valuev for the first time in the big man’s career.
A minute into the fight, only two punches had landed – both jabs to the body by Haye. After another thirty seconds, Valuev finally landed with a right hand to the top of a ducking Haye’s head, but Haye quickly got the point back by smacking Valuev with a body shot. Haye landed another body shot but caught a right from Valuev before the bell. All in all, it was a good opening round for the challenger.
Valuev pushed a jab to Haye’s body as round two began – just as slowly as the first. But when he tried another jab, Haye caught him with a thudding left hook. They traded jabs to the body, and then Haye popped Valuev with a sharp jab upstairs. Two more jabs landed to Valuev’s body before he caught Haye with one to the face.
Haye jabbed Valuev’s body again and then landed the first good shot of the night – a hard right hand that rattled Valuev’s dome. The champion briefly covered up before shaking his head at Haye as if to suggest it had no effect. And maybe it didn’t, because he answered with a jab that moved Haye back. Still, the challenger had gotten off to a tremendous start, winning the first two rounds.
For the first minute-and-a-half of round three, Haye didn’t throw a punch, letting Valuev back him around the ring with his jab. Then, he unleashed a right-left combination to the head of the Russian giant. A left hook landed on Valuev, but the champion moved Haye with a jab to the chest. Haye then stepped back in and crashed a right across Valuev’s face, winning a close third round with power shots.
Valuev started to pressure Haye more in round four but struggled to land anything. In fact, Haye landed the best shot with a right hand upside Valuev’s head. He also landed a jab to the body, ducked the looping shots from Valuev, and landed another. Valuev answered with a jab but caught a left hook to the chin in return. They traded jabs to the body, and Valuev got in a body shot to Haye. In a very close round, Valuev was busier but barely more effective than Haye – if at all.
Haye turned southpaw in round five to try and throw Valuev off, but the giant continued to plod forward behind his jab, the same as before. A jab from Valuev earned a nod from Haye, who fired back with one to the body. Haye got in a left hook, followed by a right, but Valuev again shook his head. Near the end of the round, Valuev landed a body shot and a right to the head against the ropes. Haye responded by dropping his hands and caught several jabs to the head in order to try and land one of his haymakers. The result was that Valuev took the round.
With Haye’s hands still down in round six, Valuev stuck in a jab to the body. Haye managed to land a left hook and a body shot in return. But then, Valuev rushed Haye against the ropes and pounded in another body shot. Valuev tried a jab but took a left hook off the dome. Haye went on to score with a right-left combination. Showing some real fire for the first time in a few rounds, Haye banged in a right to the neck of Valuev before the bell in a nice bounce-back round.
Valuev backed Haye up with the jab to start round seven and had him ducking into the ropes with a left hook. They traded jabs to the body, then Valuev walked into a right from Haye. Haye added a left hook to the head but caught a thudding right hand from Valuev in return. Valuev landed several jabs and another right on Haye to end a good round for the champion, though Haye did bounce a right off Valuev’s head before the bell.
Round eight was a battle of the jabs, with Valuev doing slightly better – the jab being his best weapon. Yet Haye may have just edged it with a left-right combination near the end of an otherwise slow round. In close rounds like eight, Haye almost had to be given the nod for landing the flashier punches.
Valuev grazed Haye with a left hook before throwing down a right to the side of his head to begin round nine. Haye came back with a right to the side of Valuev’s head. Haye then led with his left and hammered in another hard right that moved Valuev’s head back. Undeterred, Valuev moved Haye with a left hook, but the challenger retaliated with another right to the head, ending a good round for Haye.
A minute into round ten, Haye scored with a left hook and ducked a looping right from Valuev, before adding a body shot for good measure. With Valuev doing little to stop him, Haye got in a jab to the body and a right hand around the glove of the champion. A frustrated Valuev finally went on the attack, landing two body shots, but Haye made him pay with a left hook. A right from Valuev ended the round, but it wasn’t enough to take the round back from Haye.
After an actionless first minute of round eleven, Valuev tried to clinch but took a right across the face from Haye. Valuev looked to Pabon, frowned and gave a shake of the head as if to complain. Another minute went by before Haye landed a jab to the body. Haye then popped Valuev’s head back with a jab to the face. The challenger proceeded to jump in with a left hook but ate a right-left from Valuev in return. Valuev landed some good jabs and blocked a few right hands from Haye before the bell, ending a good round for the champion.
They traded jabs to start the twelfth and final round. Haye came with the first power shot when he landed a right hand and pulled off a big counter left hook. Then, in the center of the ring, Haye planted his feet and blasted Valuev with a crushing left-right combination across the face. Valuev hopped a moment to try shaking it off, but Haye proceeded to nail him with another left hook to the face.
Valuev then tried to clinch but ate another hard left hook from Haye. This time, the Russian giant’s knees clearly buckled, and his arms dropped to his sides. He staggered into the ropes, grabbed hold of them with his glove to stay upright, then remembered to turn and face Haye, grabbing onto the surging challenger. Haye tried stuffing in shots, but Valuev managed to stop him by holding.
With the crowd energized by the sight of Valuev stunned, Haye landed another right. He struck with a left-right combination and smacked Valuev with a follow-up right, but none of the punches had the same effect as the one just seconds earlier.
With round twelve clearly in the bag but the fight still in question, Haye made a strange decision to keep his distance for the last thirty seconds. He got in one more right hand and raised his glove, awaiting the final bell, at which point he smacked his glove over Valuev’s as though there was no question he had won the fight.
There was no question Haye had proven himself the better fighter, but his inactivity for much of the fight left the decision in question, no more so than when the first card was announced even at 114-114. To the joy of British fans, that card was overruled by two perfectly acceptable scores of 116-112 in favor of the winner by majority decision and new WBA Champion David Haye.
A disappointed Valuev shook his head and looked on as Haye shouted in elation. Haye raised his newly-won belt and saluted the British fans. With the win, he became the seventh British fighter in history to hold a piece of the heavyweight crown and the first man in boxing to ever defeat an opponent who outweighed him by as much as Valuev did.
While the significance of Haye’s win was enormous, his performance was nothing spectacular, especially in light of the fact that Evander Holyfield had utilized a similar game plan to befuddle Valuev last December, though he didn’t get the decision. Haye left too many rounds up for debate by not being active enough. When he let his hands go, he made Valuev pay, but he was reluctant to do it often.
Given that Haye was able to rock Valuev in the last round, it was puzzling to see him not test the giant’s chin earlier. After all, the fight had been close throughout, with several rounds hard to judge. And, given Germany’s history of being one of the hardest places to win a decision against a German-based fighter, there was no way for Haye to know for sure whether he was ahead and in a position to play it safe.
Haye offered up his reason after the fight, saying he damaged his right hand in the second or third round and felt he had to try to win with his left alone. His sudden lapses in the middle of the fight – and the notable absence of his right hand – would suggest he was telling the truth.
The win is especially big because Haye brings more explosiveness – both in fighting style and personality – than half the heavyweight division alone. Aside from Chris Arreola, who was already thrashed by Vitali Klitschko and thus not much of a factor anymore, the division is devoid of legitimate stars. Haye is the lone knockout artist in the division and brings the mouth to increase demand for a fight with any heavyweight he chooses.
And, if he chooses a Klitschko, he would be wise to go for Wladimir, whose fragile chin makes him susceptible to Haye at any moment. First up, however, will be a mandatory defense against former champion John Ruiz next year.
As for Valuev, the loss is disappointing but not surprising, even though he came in as the favorite. Valuev fought the way he always fights, and, against elite fighters, it simply isn’t good enough. He more or less won his rounds based on Haye’s inactivity rather than anything he did to control his opponent.
Several close decisions have gone his way, including two against Ruiz, and Holyfield was flat out robbed against him. He certainly could have helped his case by actually fighting more against Haye, but, at 36 years of age, he’s probably set in his ways and eying retirement anyway.
