Join Will Cooling at 9.45pm BST/4.45pm ET for live coverage of the much anticipated grudge match between Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye which will decide who is the unified WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF and Ring Heavyweight Champion of the World. It is a fight that is three years in the making and Inside Fights will bring you all the action.
Welcome fight fans we are live on a night that two heavyweight champions step into the ring but only one will emerge wearing gold. It is a fight three years in the making. Coming into the ring first will be the WBA Heavyweight Champion, who after a tremendously choreographed introduction is making Klitschko and fans wait. The fans are told that Haye is delaying the start time and loudly boo the Brit and his mind games, this despite the large number of British fans in attendance.
Haye coming out now, wearing the new England football team strip, coming to a loud but mixed reaction. Very much a football style crowd with a loud British contingent cheering on the WBA Champion. Haye looks calm, singing along to his theme tune. Loud boos and then loud cheers for Haye as he steps into the ring – so much for the partisan pro-Haye crowd more excitable British commentators were predicting.
We’re now getting the Klitschko video and entrance. You have to say for the Klitschkos but nobody other than WWE comes anywhere to the spectacular shows that K2 put on. Klitschko doesn’t make Haye wait and looks determined as he makes his way to the ring. Haye is wearing a tin foil jacket to keep himself warm in a wet and cold Hambug. This is it – who will leave with three world titles?
Ring, WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF World Heavyweight Title Unification
Wladimir Klitschko (242.6Ibs) vs. David Haye (212.8Ibs)
Round One
Klitschko has the height, reach and a thirty pound weight advantage. Haye would presumably have the edge in speed, certainly does in terms of pure explosiveness. Both men punch hard but have doubts about their chin, doubts that may be unfair due to the length of time from Klitschko’s last knockdown and Haye having happened when he mostly battled with cutting down to crusierweight.Who can impose their gifts on the other, Klitschko is rightly the favorite but can Haye pull off the upset?
Klitschko takes the center of the ring and stalks down Haye. Klitschko pawing the jab out and forcing Haye off onto the back foot. Not much action so far. Haye tries to rush in but Klitschko easily pushes him off. Klitschko landed the JAB! Haye tries to get in the overhand right but Klitschko defends, gets the jab. Haye lands the body shot. Klitschko landing the jab repeatedly. Haye twice tries to land the big right but Klitschko manages to lean out of the way. Klitschko’s round. 10-9.
Round Two
Klitschko landing the jab early on in the second. Haye goes close rushing in but moves back. Haye rushes in again but gets hit with the jab. Klitschko has the center of the ring, stalking Haye against the ring ropes. Haye reduced to leaping in but its robbing his punches of his snap. Haye misses wildly. Klitschko lands a right hand. Haye lands a left-hand but Klitschko lands another jab. Haye just rushing in wildly – completely lacking in technique. Klitschko lands a hard jab. Haye tries to rush in, but Klitschko goes closer with a right hand. Another good round for Klitschko, Haye has barely landed anything. 20-18.
Round Three
Klitschko walking down Haye again, keeping the left arm to control Haye’s positioning inside the ring. Haye lands a big right hand, but Klitschko holds. Klitschko looks a bit more tentative after that punch. Klitschko lands a right hand of his own. Klitschko working with the jab although not landing it. Haye rushes in and lands a left, Klitschko answers with a couple of short power punches of his own. Dramatic stuff as the fight seems to be coming to the boil. Round ends with Haye dropping to his knees after Klitschko leaned on him. Klitschko’s round but much better from Haye – look more composed and together. 30-27.
Round Four
Klitschko again stalking Haye down with the jab, lands a good right hand. Klitschko is certainly proving more aggressive than normal, trying to force the action. Haye rushes in with an overhand right but misses. Klitschko looking more composed. Haye goes for a right hand, but Klitschko leans back and avoid the blow. Klitschko lands a strong jab. Haye lands a right hand right at the death. Haye came the stronger as the round progressed but really didn’t impress until the last second. Klitschko’s round again. 40-36.
Round Five
Klitschko walking down Haye again, controlling the fight with the jab while trying to bring the right hand in more than usual. Haye seems to be trying to play rope-a-dope, run around and exhaust the big Ukrainian. Haye has barely thrown a single punch this round. Klitschko lands a thunderous right hand that clearly stuns Haye, following up with a left hand a short hook. Haye responds by rushing at Klitschko but he clearly has lost his composure. Haye rushes in again and gets thrown off. 50-45.
Round Six
Klitschko really putting Haye under pressure well, this has been a far more three-dimensional performance from him than normal. He is constantly walking Haye down and trying to wear him down with the jab and using his right hand very frequently. Klitschko really hasn’t given Haye the time he needs to step anything up – Haye has barely thrown a single thing. More importantly he seems to be tiring – after falling to the ground after a (rare) clinch he got up very slowly. This is a dominant performance so far from Klitschko. 60-54
Round Seven
Haye’s complete lack of technique has been thoroughly exposed here. He just lacks the technique to get inside. Haye has his most significant offensive move of the fight, tricking the referee by going to the ground very easily in the clinch. Klitschko gets a point deducted by the referee, which seems ridiculously premature. Klitschko controls the rest of the round with Haye only successfully rushing in with a couple of half punches. 10-9 to Haye, slowly due to the knockdown. 69-64
Round Eight
Better round from Haye, who seems slightly more collected and faster around the ring than he has recently but Klitschko’s style is just tailor made to control the round against a smaller opponent. To be Haye has been complaining more to the referee than punching. He looks completely outmatched and seemingly starting to get very tired, whereas you have to think he would have expected to be first to the punch by now. 79-73
Round Nine
Haye lands a good overhand punch early on, but Klitschko leans with the punch and so takes some of the power away. Klitschko walking Haye down, landing a nice hard right punch and the of course THE JAB! Haye tries to repeat his successful piece of kiddology in dropping to the floor in the clinch but the referee remonstrates with him. At the end of round Haye tries to rush in but Klitschko successfully lands several short punches. 89-82.
Round Ten
Klitschko looks remarkably strong in the tenth round of what has been a fight conducted at a very fast pace. Klitschko controlling the fight with his jab, a testament to just how completely he has imposed his gameplan on the WBA Champion. Haye rushes in with an overhand right hand and loses his balance. Complains to the referee but as the old saying goes “fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me”. Klitschko lands a hard right hand, which Haye takes very well. Another strong well from Klitschko. 99-91
Round Eleven
More of the same from Klitschko, as Haye has proven laughably unable to offer anything close to an answer to Klitschko standard tactics. Haye flings himself to the floor after failing, and an irate referee punishes him by counting the knockdown. Incorrect but not unfair. Klitschko just completely dominant for the rest of the round and is now surely just three minutes away from achieving the brothers’ destiny 109-99
Round Twelve
Incredible stat from Sky, Klitschko has landed 84 punches to Haye’s 45. Haye hurts Klitschko with a big right hand, but Klitschko is able to kill the moment by holding on. Klitschko back on top, working Haye over with the jab. Klitschko starting to put combinations together. Haye tries to rush in but its just far too wild, and Klitschko is able to move out of the way. Haye closes the round out by recklessly throwing and the final round tolls. Terrible, terrible performance from Haye who was just completely shut out by Klitschko. 119–109
The judges have it 117-109, 118-108, 116-110 for the winner and now unified WBA, WBO, IBO, IBF and Ring Champion Wladimir Klitschko. A dominant performance from Wladimir Klitschko who exposed just what a hype job David Haye was. And so now finally the Klitschkos have all the world heavyweight titles in their possession. The dream of the two brothers has finally been realised.
Wladimir Klitschko defeated David Haye to retain WBO, IBO, IBF and Ring Heavyweight Titles and win the WBA Heavyweight Title via unanimous decision.
