Everything you need to know ahead of the big heavyweight fight this weekend from where, when, who, prediction and more.
The hype and action packed build-up have given the feel of a Heavyweight thriller, fit for the theatre’s, but the truth is that David Haye vs Tony Bellew is a contest that flatters to deceive.
The trading of words and blows at press conferences has overshadowed what is on the face of it, a terrible mismatch.
Lets take a look at the particulars of this Saturday first off:
Fight Date: Saturday March 4th, 2017.
Location: O2 Arena, London, United Kingdom.
Time: TV coverage of the event including undercard commences at 5pm local time in the UK.
TV Channel: Sky Sports Box Office.
Live Stream Info: Sky Go for Sky subscribors.
Haye vs Bellew Fight Preview
Bellew 28-2-1(18KO’s) has proven to be world class, but the former two-time world title challenger at Light Heavyweight – and world champion at Cruiserweight – is moving up to face an opponent that holds advantages in all the critical physical departments.
Heap on top of that, Haye 28-2(26KO’s) is the man fighting in his comfort zone of the Heavyweight division, where despite not being a big Heavyweight himself, will dwarf Bellew in natural size.
However, to come to Bellew’s aid, he is in a no-lose situation. A win and he causes one of the biggest shocks in recent boxing memory, while a loss does close to nothing to his reputation, and he steps back down to Cruiserweight where he can pick up where he left off.
Bellew will be in need of dragging Haye into the second half of the contest, but in order for Haye to tire, the pace will have to be set relatively high. And a high pace opens far too many opportunities for Haye to land flush. And no matter how you cut this cake, Haye landing flush spells the end to the contest.
Prediction
As much as both boxers deserve respect, this contest – aired on Sky Box Office – is a hype job. The fact that this bout has brought about more publicity in the UK than this weekend’s epic match-up between Keith Thurman and Danny Garcia is frankly a joke.
So, to cut to the chase, it is not too hard to delve where I am going with this prediction.
Bellew shows heart once again, but after giving it his best shot, and ultimately causing some moments of concern for Haye, the heavy favourite comes out on top, dropping and stopping Bellew inside 4 rounds.
Haye vs Bellew Undercard
A decent undercard at the O2 Arena should keep things lively before the main event.
One of the oddest match-ups in recent years takes place as Sam Eggington 19-3(11KO’s) faces a faded Paulie Malignaggi 36-7(7KO’s).
The contest provides a fantastic opportunity to the popular Eggington, as he takes on one of modern day boxing’s most recognisable names.
Malignaggi’s time has recently been devoted to commentary – in which he is doing a fantastic job both sides of the Atlantic – and while his motivation ahead of this fight is somewhat hard to fathom, one doesn’t believe that it is money.
The likelihood is that Paulie is looking at this as a farewell tour in front of a British crowd of which Paulie has many admirers.
Eggington continues to improve in the ring with each fight, and while his one-sided defeat to Bradley Skeete highlighted how he can be outboxed, he righted many wrongs in that regard when he dragged Frankie Gavin – on his day an even better boxer that Skeete – into a war, ultimately halting Gavin in the 8th.
This could be the fight of the night, with Eggington coming on strong after Paulie gets off to a good start. With his continuous pressure, Eggington will be on top as the fight draws to an end, claiming a close decision win.
Derry Mathews 38-11-2(20KO’s) will be hoping for one more big night as he looks to once again turn back the clock against the unbeaten Ohara Davies 14-0(11KO’s).
The young and free-spirited Davies has split opinion with both his performances in the ring and performances outside of it.
Quite the character, Davies is a solid puncher, and despite looking laboured for much of the contest he deserved a lot more credit than he received for the way in which he utterly dominated Andrea Scarpa last time out.
Mathews of a few years ago could have given a huge test to Davies, but at Light Welterweight he just doesn’t bring the same threat at this stage of his career.
Down on the scorecards, Mathews may be saved late on, but he is still smart enough to keep himself out of serious danger, taking Davies to the scorecards, where Ohara will be declared the winner.
IBF Featherweight champion Lee Selby 23-1(8KO’s) is also back in action in a non-title contest with Andoni Gago 16-2-2(5KO’s).
