By Niall Doran
David Haye vs Tyson Fury – Perhaps the biggest boxing news in recent British & Irish boxing history was announced last week when these two put pen to paper
When this fight finally got officially signed last week I think I speak for most boxing fans in Ireland and the UK when saying I was just a tad bit excited about the news. For me and a lot of boxing fans I’m sure, there is nothing better than seeing two exciting heavyweights slugging it out. In David Haye and Tyson Fury not only do we have two men who are known inside the squared circle to be big punchers and can be hurt at times, we also have two of the best entertainers outside the ring in recent boxing history.
The fight will take place at the Manchester Arena on September 28th, a former stomping ground for David Haye where previously he recorded good wins over John Ruiz and Audley Harrison. However Fury is certainly no stranger to Manchester having been his hometown now for quite a number of years. It will be interesting to see who the crowd favour in this one, as both guys to put it mildly stir mixed emotions with their out spoken nature and pre-fight antics. I think that’s why this fight really sells to the general punter and passive boxing fan. The public know who these guys are and whether they feel good, bad or indifferent towards them, they will tune in to see what happens. These two fighters along with Floyd Mayweather could arguably be the best salesmen in the sport today.
Looking at the fight itself you would have to say the clash of styles between the two surely has to result in a knockout. Then again I have learned over the years that calling big fights is very hard to do at the best of times, coupled with the fact that one punch can end it all, particularly in the heavyweights. I suppose on paper one would have to think the smart money would be on Haye to win inside the distance. He has proven power and Fury has been proven to go down on numerous occasions by opponents that certainly don’t hit as hard as Haye. However styles make fights, and Fury can be very unpredictable when he boxes. He has been known to switch to southpaw all of a sudden, and sometimes can box to a strict game plan very well under instruction from his uncle Peter Fury.
In the first round of interviews Fury has been saying that he is looking to really engage Haye and make it a real tear up, but I’m not sure I believe him. I wonder could this be a bit of a smoke screen when in fact his plan could very well be to take Haye the 12 rounds in a bid to use his reach advantage, perceived stamina advantage and keep the fight at length.
I think the reason he performed so poorly in his last fight against Steve Cunningham (even though he won by KO) was due to the fact his uncle and trainer Peter Fury was unable to be at the fight due to visa complications. I think Peter Fury is a superb trainer, and very underestimated in world boxing. This time around I’d imagine he will have his charge primed and focused and ready to concentrate for every second of every round.
In the other corner David Haye’s long time trainer and friend Adam Booth no doubt will have similar plans and will be plotting an elaborate game plan, which he has become famous for doing over the years. At this point I feel Haye’s experience will be a little too much for Tyson and can see Haye taking Fury out inside the distance.
However Fury’s huge heart, constant improvement and unpredictable nature means anything could happen. Perhaps closer to the fight he might start getting inside the head of Haye, who for the first time in his career – is up against a man who can trash talk just as good as him, if not better.
The post An Early Look at David Haye vs Tyson Fury appeared first on %%Boxing News and Views/%%.
