David Haye's top five fights: Fan's take

David Haye once attended a news conference wearing a T-shirt depicting an image of himself holding the Klitschko brothers' severed heads. Haye will never be called shy. He does not like the Klitschko brothers. Haye also has had an accomplished career in the crusierweight division. He is now ready to fight the best heavyweights in the world. However, what are David Haye's top fights in his career?

5: TKO 5 Monte Barrett, November 15^th, 2008
Haye's fight against Monte Barrett was his chance to fight an experienced hard hitting heavyweight. Barrett was considered to be a challenging fight Barrett throws punches from strange angles and hits very hard. Yet, Haye was ready to prove he could succeed in the heavyweight division.

It was an action packed fight. Haye was hurt by a left hook in second round. However, Haye came back in the 3rd round and knocked down Barrett twice by a left hook to the jaw then a right. He continued the onslaught in the 4th round and knocked down Barrett two more times. Then, Haye in the fifth round hit Barrett with a right left combination which led the referee to stop the fight.

His second fight at heavyweight was far from a perfect fight for him. But, he proved he could defeat a solid and experienced heavyweight boxer.

4:TKO 4 John Ruiz, April 3^rd, 2010
Haye was required to make his first defense of the WBA heavyweight championship against arguably the most boring heavyweight boxer of all-time John Ruiz. However, he did not want to fight to be a typical Ruiz snooze fest. Haye wanted to become only the second man to knock him out.

Haye dominated Ruiz throughout the boxing match. He knocked him down twice in the first round. He also knocked down Ruiz with strong punches in the 5th and 6th round. Haye hit him with a couple of powerful shots in the ninth round and Ruiz's camp threw in the towel to stop the fight.

Haye announced after the bout he was ready to unify the heavyweight belts by fighting either one of the Klitschko brothers. He mentioned that he planned to retire by 31. He wanted to end his career with a fight against one of the Klitschko brothers.

3:W12 Nikolai Valuev, November 7^th, 2009
David Haye vs. Vitali Klitschko fight was being discussed. But, the boxing match never came to fruition so Haye decided to fight Nikolai Valuev. He was looking forward to have a chance to fight for a world heavyweight title. So a fight against the one of the Klitschko brothers had to wait.

The boxing match truly was David vs. Goliath. Haye was giving up nearly a foot and 100 pounds to the tallest and heaviest champion in history. Haye used his hand speed to continually beat Valuev to the punch. Haye rocked him with a hard punch in the final round. He almost became the first man to knockout Valuev. Haye won the boxing match by unaminous decision.

Haye became the first British fighter to hold a world heavyweight title since Lennox Lewis retired as champ in 2004. Equally important, he showed that his power carried up to heavyweight with his victory over Valuev. Haye was not afraid to fight men bigger men.

2: TKO 2 Enzo Maccarinelli, March 8^th, 2008
Enzo Maccarinelli vs. David Haye was an extremely anticipated boxing match. It was a huge fight for Britain. There were 42,000 people in the arena and nearly half of a billion people watched on TV around the world. The boxing match was seen as the biggest British fight since Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn.

Haye lived up to his promise in the fight. He ended the match quickly. Haye hit Maccarinelli with a clubbing right hand two minutes into the second round and the referee stopped the fight. He showed the excellent punching power that he possessed.

Haye planned finally to leave the crusierweight decision behind and to move up to the heavyweight division. He was proud of his performance. "I talked the talk and walked the walk. I know how hard I punched. No crusierweight can live with my power and no heavyweight can either," said Haye.

1: TKO 7 Jean-Marc Mormeck, November 10^th, 2007
Haye was an unproven fighter going into his boxing match against Jean-Marc Mormeck. He wanted to show that he was an elite fighter. It also gave Haye an opportunity to become a world champion.

The beginning of the fight there was constant back and forth action. The fourth round Mormeck connected with a combination of hooks that knocked down Haye. Haye regained composure in the seventh round nailing Mormeck with an uppercut, left hook, and overhand right combination that knocked him down. He got up from the knockdown. But, the referee ended the bout. Haye was declared the winner.

Haye was planning eventually to fight for heavyweight title. He also mentioned that it was very hard for him to make the weight for the fight.

Five reasons Mayweather will outshine Pacquiao this fall

 Boxing's two biggest pound for pound stars will be stepping into the ring this fall. While Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao still aren't fighting one another, each is in a high profile match which will command the attention of the boxing world.
Floyd Mayweather will return from a long hiatus on September 17th to meet WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, and Manny Pacquiao will put his WBO welterweight strap up for grabs on November 12th when he meets Juan Manuel Marquez in a 144 lbs catchweight bout, the third bout in their series.
But which of the sport's kingpins will come out looking better? Here are 5 reasons why Mayweather will outshine Pacquiao this fall.
1. Ortiz's Style: Ortiz is going to bring the heat against Mayweather, constantly coming forward and attacking. Not only will this make the fight exciting from the start, but it will force Mayweather to stay busy as well. Contrary to popular opinion, Mayweather is at his best, and most fan-friendly, when a fighter steps into his wheelhouse.
2. Ortiz-Pacquiao Similarities: Victor Ortiz has several important similarities to Manny Pacquiao, all of which seem to hint at the possibility that Mayweather will be using this fight as preparation for a showdown against Pacquiao, perhaps sometime in the first half of 2012. Ortiz is an aggressive southpaw with great punching power, and he has quick hands. All of that means that Mayweather will be particularly geared up, focused and ready to perform.
3. Marquez's Style: While Ortiz's style seems likely to bring out the best in Mayweather, Juan Manuel Marquez's style serves as a dangerous riddle for Pacquiao. Even including Pacquiao's 2005 loss to Erik Morales, the man who has most flummoxed the Filipino icon since his US debut in 2001 has been Marquez. Marquez and Pacquiao clash in exciting fashion, but Marquez doesn't serve to make Pacquiao look "good".
4. Marquez at Welterweight: We've seen Marquez once at a weight above 135 lbs, and that's when he fought Mayweather. Mayweather, not a big welterweight, seemed much larger than the lightweight champion, and Marquez looked lethargic at the higher weight. Knowing that already, even a dominant Pacquiao win wouldn't mean as much, or seem as spectacular, as if the two had fought for a third time two years ago at 135 or 140 lbs.
5. Mayweather's Comeback: The long absence of Mayweather has created more intrigue for his upcoming bout. Will he be rusty, will he be able to keep up with the younger, more powerful, Ortiz? Meanwhile, we've seen a lot of Pacquiao lately. In fact, we've seen him fight eight times in the same period of time that we've seen Mayweather fight twice. That's a major plus in his favor when comparing the two fighters, but it also means that perhaps fans have gotten used to him and some of that intrigue is gone, particularly as opposed to Mayweather, of whom we have seen so little.
Sources: ESPN.com/boxing, Boxrec.com, ProBoxing-Fans.com

Fan's view: Will Mayweather-Ortiz and Pacquiao-Marquez III clear the way for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather?

It has been about two years since legitimate Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather rumors , musings and grumblings have been making the rounds. In the fall of 2009, Floyd Mayweather returned after a nearly two year absence from the ring to dominate Juan Manuel Marquez, and two months later, Manny Pacquiao resoundingly defeated welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.
Fast forward to the present, and we find that Mayweather is set to return from a year and a half absence from the ring to face welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, and two months after that, Pacquiao is set to meet Marquez.
Therefore, the obvious question then is if Mayweather vs. Ortiz and Pacquiao vs. Marquez III will clear the way for Pacquiao vs. Mayweather to finally take place. Here are 5 reasons why victories by each man this fall will lead to the mega-fight of the generation.
1. Mayweather Prep Work: Victor Ortiz shares some interesting attributes with Manny Pacquiao. Mainly, he's an aggressive southpaw with a big punch and quick hands. Mayweather has taken matches which served as style tune-ups in the past, namely when he fought Sharmba Mitchell before facing Zab Judah. Therefore, Mayweather could very well be putting in the prep work to get himself ready to fight Pacquiao next. Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, you can take Freddie Roach's instead.
2. Further Delay Could Derail: Top Rank's head honcho Bob Arum is big on letting matches simmer or marinate for as long as possible, in order to build up the hype, anticipation and payoff when two fighters finally meet. Sometimes that pay dividends, but sometimes that blows up in your face. For example, Arum was angling towards a future Yuriorkis Gamboa-Juan Manuel Lopez featherweight mega-bout, but that got destroyed when Orlando Salido upended JuanMa. Further delay could derail this fight as well, and sooner or later, one of these guys is going to lose before they face each othe, ruining the magic of the event.
3. Intermingling Opposition: The list of common opponents between Pacquiao and Mayweather has grown to be quite lengthy over the past few years. Pacquiao has faced all four of Mayweather's most recent opponents - Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez and Shane Mosley - although Mayweather faced three of them first, all excluding Juan Manuel Marquez... whom Pacquiao is of course set to fight again. The remaining competition the two haven't met comes with a mixture of low name recognition, lower weight class, or simply a poor quality of opponent for a pound for pound fighter. The remaining competition, that is, besides one another.
4. Legal Drama (Hopefully) Subsiding: Mayweather has been more active fighting legal battles over the past year than he has been fighting in the squared circle. Most have been delayed or averted, although Mayweather recently made news by no-showing a court ordered deposition for a defamation lawsuit filed by team Pacquiao. Hashing out a deal in their mutual lawsuit would be a boldfaced indicator that they are ready to do battle elsewhere, assuming Mayweather avoids jail time from his pending charges.
5. Money Still Matters: Interpret the phrase as you wish. Maybe it means that "Money" Mayweather still matters to the sport of boxing, or perhaps it could mean that his name on Pacquiao's resume still matters to his legacy. Or maybe it simply means that money still matters to both fighters and their promoters, and sooner or later, a combined $100-$150 million of earnings will be far too great to ignore, all other issues aside.
Sources: ESPN.com/boxing, Boxrec.com, ProBoxing-Fans.com

Tyson, Stallone, Chavez enter Boxing Hall

CANASTOTA, N.Y. (AP) — The once-proclaimed "baddest man on the planet" fumbled for words that wouldn't come. Sylvester Stallone knew exactly what Mike Tyson was feeling.
Both were inducted in the International Boxing Hall of Fame on Sunday, Tyson for his reign as heavyweight champion of the world, Stallone for his "Rocky" movie series, and the fans turned out in droves on a rainy, overcast afternoon.
Thousands packed every corner of the induction grounds, and Tyson was no match for the emotion of the moment.
"I've got to be goofy about this or I'll get emotional up here," Tyson warned before trying to honor the late trainer Cus D'Amato, who became his legal guardian after Tyson's mother died and taught him the finer points of the sweet science in a gym in Catskill, N.Y., just a 2½-hour drive from the Hall of Fame.
D'Amato died in 1985, the year before the hard-punching Tyson knocked out WBC champion Trevor Berbick in the second round to become the youngest heavyweight champ in history at age 20.
"All this stuff started when I met Cus, and Bobby Stewart (a social worker and boxing fan who introduced Tyson to D'Amato)," Tyson said. "I was in reform school because I was always robbing people.
"All my life I watched these guys. I look at them different," Tyson said as he looked around at a dais that included hometown heroes Carmen Basilio and Billy Backus, Jake LaMotta, Leon Spinks, George Chuvalo, and Marvin Hagler, among others. "Why would I want to be like these guys I always say. I don't know.
Tyson paused briefly — the crowd erupted in "Come on Mike!" — and then he tried in vain to continue.
"Oh, man," Tyson said. "I have to take my time with this because there's other guys up here, you know. When I met Cus, we talked a little bit about money, but we wanted to be great fighters.
"Hey guys, I can't even finish this stuff. Thank you. Thank you," Tyson said, then sat down.
If anyone could understand the 44-year-old Tyson's mind-set, it was Stallone, who penned the script about an underdog boxer from Philadelphia named Rocky Balboa and then played the part in the movies. "Rocky" was released in 1976 and was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning best picture, best director and best film editing.
"Rocky" made Stallone what he is today and captured boxing's heart from the outset. Every induction weekend is punctuated by the theme song from "Rocky," and on this day it seemed a little bit louder than usual as it blared over the loudspeakers when the honorees made their way onstage.
"I've never pretended to be a boxer. I don't possess those skills," said Stallone, who skipped the annual pre-induction parade because of security concerns. "What I do think I have is an understanding of what goes on outside the ring. Outside the ring is sometimes maybe an even bigger struggle than what goes on inside the ring, and I was able to capture that. Then I believe that you can identify more with the fighter."
Stallone paused as the crowd erupted again.
"More than that, you also realize that our life is a constant battle," Stallone said. "Sometimes I write things that may seem a little sentimental, but I truly believe it's not how hard you can hit — it's how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward because that's really what makes the difference in your life."
Stallone also wrote five other movies based on the Rocky Balboa character and in 2006 was awarded the Boxing Writers Association of America award for "Lifetime Cinematic Achievement in Boxing."
"There is special reverence for me," Stallone said. "They are the greatest athletes in the world. They are our connection to the past and our way to the future. They are the guys that go in there and take the blows and show that if you really put it out there on the line, you are a champion. You may not be the champion of the world, but you'll be the champion of your life.
"And Yo Adrian, I did it!" Stallone shouted in closing, repeating one of the more famous lines from the movie.
Mexican champ Julio Cesar Chavez, Russian-born junior welterweight Kostya Tszyu, Mexican trainer Ignacio "Nacho" Beristain, and referee Joe Cortez also were inducted.
Chavez, who grew up in an abandoned railroad car with his five sisters and four brothers, became a three-division champion, registering 88 knockouts before retiring with a professional record of 107-6-2.
"My induction into the Hall of Fame is not for me, it's for all of you and all of Mexico," Chavez said through an interpreter in a brief speech.
Posthumous honorees enshrined included: bantamweight Memphis Pal Moore, light heavyweight champion Jack Root, and middleweight Dave Shade in the old-timer category; British heavyweight John Gully in the pioneer category; promoter A.F. Bettinson; and former BBC broadcaster Harry Carpenter.

Roach: Mayweather could be prepping for Pacquiao

 

AP – FILE - In this April 30, 2010 file photo, Floyd Mayweather Jr. steps on the scale at a weigh-in ceremony …

By DAVE SKRETTA, AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta, Ap Sports Writer – Wed Jun 8, 4:36 pm ET

NEW YORK – Freddie Roach believes that Floyd Mayweather Jr. could be preparing for a long-awaited showdown with Manny Pacquiao by returning to the ring in September.
The trainer of the Filipino sensation told The Associated Press in a phone interview on Wednesday that he thinks Mayweather has agreed to fight young welterweight titleholder Victor Ortiz because his style would help get him ready for a fight against Pacquiao.
"Of course, that's the first thing that came to my mind," Roach said.
Ortiz and Pacquiao are both fast, high-volume punchers who tend to press the action. They are also southpaws, and Mayweather — who will be ending a 16-month layoff when he steps into the ring Sept. 17 — has rarely fought left-handed opponents during his undefeated career.
The few he has fought, Zab Judah to name one, have cause him some problems.
"I'm just figuring he'll give us a good blueprint to fight him, how Floyd handles fighting a southpaw," Roach said of Ortiz, who won the WBC 147-pound title with a narrow unanimous decision over Andre Berto in April, a certain candidate for Fight of the Year.
"Some left-handers have given him trouble," Roach said. "Judah gave him trouble but couldn't maintain the pace. Guys like Victor Ortiz, Manny Pacquiao, they can maintain that pace. And I do think the southpaw stance gives him trouble."
Pacquiao is scheduled to face Juan Manuel Marquez in November in the third fight of their epic series, after routing Shane Mosley last month. Mayweather easily beat Marquez in September 2009 before soundly beating Mosley in his most recent fight.
Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions, who handles Ortiz and has worked with Mayweather in the past, laughed off the suggestion that "Money Mayweather" could be getting ready to face Pacquiao by accepting a fight against someone as young and hungry as his fighter.
"If you want to get ready for Manny, of all people, you're not going to fight Victor Ortiz," Schaefer said. "You would be shooting yourself to pick someone as tough, as physical, as strong, as young as Victor to prepare for Pacquiao."
Pacquiao and Mayweather have come close to reaching a deal for potentially the richest fight in boxing history on multiple occasions, only for it to evaporate.
Mayweather has insisted that he will require random blood testing for any future fight, even though it is not required by any boxing commission. Pacquiao has agreed to the blood tests but the two sides could never agree on a specific protocol.
Ortiz agreed to blood and urine testing laid out by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Pacquiao recently settled a defamation lawsuit against Schaefer and his partner, Oscar De La Hoya. Pacquiao claimed in the suit that he has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, but said that De La Hoya and Schaefer — along with Mayweather, his father and uncle — had embarked on a smear campaign to make people think he used drugs.
Mayweather and his family members weren't involved in the settlement so that case is still pending, which presents yet another obstacle to the megafight ever happening.
In the meantime, Mayweather will start preparing for Ortiz. The former five-division champ has often been criticized for facing opponents who are smaller than him or past their prime, but that won't be the case when he steps into the ring against the WBC titleholder.
"Victor Ortiz is one of the most exciting guys in the sport. He's a tremendous story, great personality, bilingual," Schaefer said. "And it's the comeback of Floyd Mayweather.
"Over the last couple years, he always fought the guys before Pacquiao and he still got criticized," Schaefer said. "Finally, the media and fight fans realize he doesn't duck anyone. Coming back to fight Victor Ortiz shows you what he's made all about."(yahoo.com)

Manny Pacquiao: Will Pacquiao Accept $65M Fight vs Saul Alvarez?

MANILA—Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has offered $65 million to Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao to fight in Mexico next year with one of Mexico’s up-and-coming fighters.
This was revealed yesterday by Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, a long-time confidante of Pacquiao, who said that negotiations with Slim, the world’s wealthiest man, have already started and that Pacquiao was interested in the guaranteed money.
Singson’s report came after Top Rank’s Bob Arum revealed that American boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. had turned down a $65 million offer from a Singaporean group to fight Pacquiao.
In a phone interview, Singson said that Slim had told him about his desire to host one of Pacquiao’s fights as a favor to his countrymen who have been looking to see Pacquiao fight on their soil.
The $65 million offer to Pacquiao was guaranteed by Slim, who would pick the Mexican opponent for the world’s best pound-for-pound boxer.
He said Slim is looking at WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez as likely opponent for Pacquiao.
The unbeaten Alvarez is just 21 and holds an awesome 36-0-1 record with 26 knockouts.
Since 1995, Pacquiao has figured in more than a dozen fights with Mexican or Mexican and Mexican-Americans such as Oscar De La Hoya, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera and Juan Manuel Marquez but he has never fought in Mexico.
He added that unlike Mayweather, Pacquiao would not turn down $65 million especially since he still has to find his match in the ring.
“I think Manny is still at his peak,” said Singson.