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Sunday, 8 November 2009
PM leads plaudits for 'superb' Haye
(AFP)
LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown lead the plaudits on Sunday for David Haye's "superb" performance against Nikolai Valuev which made him Britain's first WBA heavyweight champion since 2003.
"Congratulations to David Haye for his superb, courageous and determined performance in Germany last night to win the WBA Heavyweight crown -- Britain's first heavyweight champion for six years," Brown said.
Haye scored a majority decision verdict on Saturday night after taking the 2.13m tall, 143kg Valuev the full twelve-round distance, using his superior speed to stay away from the Russian's close-range punches.
The press also heaped praise on the country's latest sporting hero who becomes the first Briton to hold a world heavyweight crown since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003.
"David has once again slain Golaith after David Haye beat Nikolai Valuev to become the new heavyweight king of the world," wrote the Sunday Mirror.
"Haye made a mockery of Valuev's seven-stone advantage to box the giant Russian's ears off to claim the WBA crown in one of the great nights in British boxing.
"British sport has a new superstar to rival Wayne Rooney and Jenson Button and the world is Haye's oyster after this magnificent display."
On the same lines, the Mail on Sunday wrote: "David Haye slew the giant last night and became a colossus in the eyes of British sports fans.
"In amazing scenes in Germany the 29-year-old Londoner gave a masterclass of boxing skill to snatch the WBA world heavyweight title away from Nikolai Valuev, the giant Russian whom the doubters thought would be too big for him.
"Derided as a big mouth, Haye proved beyond doubt that in the ring he is a class act, making the lumbering 7ft 2in man from St Petersburg look like a clumsy novice as he danced his way to a points victory."
The Observer praised Haye's skill in prevailing despite a damaged right hand picked up earlier in the fight.
" ... David Haye performed a 12-round magic act, most of it with a damaged hand, that bamboozled Nikolai Valuev and won the Londoner the WBA heavyweight title," the newspaper wrote.
"Haye will make close to one million pounds from this one," the newspaper estimated. "Down the road, if he beats (John) Ruiz, he will be looking for considerably more than that as he pursues the other world champions, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko."
Copyright © 2009 AFP.
Source: Google News
LONDON — Prime Minister Gordon Brown lead the plaudits on Sunday for David Haye's "superb" performance against Nikolai Valuev which made him Britain's first WBA heavyweight champion since 2003.
"Congratulations to David Haye for his superb, courageous and determined performance in Germany last night to win the WBA Heavyweight crown -- Britain's first heavyweight champion for six years," Brown said.
Haye scored a majority decision verdict on Saturday night after taking the 2.13m tall, 143kg Valuev the full twelve-round distance, using his superior speed to stay away from the Russian's close-range punches.
The press also heaped praise on the country's latest sporting hero who becomes the first Briton to hold a world heavyweight crown since Lennox Lewis retired in 2003.
"David has once again slain Golaith after David Haye beat Nikolai Valuev to become the new heavyweight king of the world," wrote the Sunday Mirror.
"Haye made a mockery of Valuev's seven-stone advantage to box the giant Russian's ears off to claim the WBA crown in one of the great nights in British boxing.
"British sport has a new superstar to rival Wayne Rooney and Jenson Button and the world is Haye's oyster after this magnificent display."
On the same lines, the Mail on Sunday wrote: "David Haye slew the giant last night and became a colossus in the eyes of British sports fans.
"In amazing scenes in Germany the 29-year-old Londoner gave a masterclass of boxing skill to snatch the WBA world heavyweight title away from Nikolai Valuev, the giant Russian whom the doubters thought would be too big for him.
"Derided as a big mouth, Haye proved beyond doubt that in the ring he is a class act, making the lumbering 7ft 2in man from St Petersburg look like a clumsy novice as he danced his way to a points victory."
The Observer praised Haye's skill in prevailing despite a damaged right hand picked up earlier in the fight.
" ... David Haye performed a 12-round magic act, most of it with a damaged hand, that bamboozled Nikolai Valuev and won the Londoner the WBA heavyweight title," the newspaper wrote.
"Haye will make close to one million pounds from this one," the newspaper estimated. "Down the road, if he beats (John) Ruiz, he will be looking for considerably more than that as he pursues the other world champions, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko."
Copyright © 2009 AFP.
Source: Google News
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Bring on Klitschkos, demands new world champion Haye
By Ryland James (AFP)
NUREMBERG, Germany — David Haye landed the WBA heavyweight title with victory over Nikolai Valuev and then set his sights on the Klitschko brothers as part of his quest to dominate the division.
The 29-year-old from London scored a majority decision verdict after taking the 2.13m tall, 143kg Russian giant the full twelve-round distance, using his superior speed to stay away from his opponent's close-range punches.
Haye must now face John Ruiz of the United States in a mandatory defence, but says he will then seek out either IBF and WBO champion Wladimir Klitscko or his brother Vitali, the WBC champion.
"Anyone who has a belt is in my sights now - definitely the Klitschkos," said Haye, who had secured fights with both Ukrainian brothers last summer only for the match-ups to fall through.
"The Klitschkos tried to lock me down in a crazy contract. I am free now to fight who I want to."
Haye revealed he had damaged his right hand early in Saturday's fight and was shocked at how hard Valuev's head was to punch.
"I damaged my right early in the fight, I think it was the second round, he has a very hard head, it was like punching a brick wall," said Haye.
"I have hit heavy bags before in the gym, but I knew I had broken my hand straight away."
Haye, Britain's first heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis's retirement in 2003, said it was an incredible feeling to have won.
"It's a bit surreal to be honest. When you strive for something your whole life, what do you do?" he said.
"Some people said I was crazy to fight this guy, but I proved the Hayemaker can turn it on when he wants to.
"I think I can clean up in this division and there is plenty more to come."
Having branded Valuev "a circus freak" before the fight, Haye said he had proved his value as a showman by backing up his brash claims.
"I say what the fight fans want to hear, I talk big and then I produce the goods," he said.
"I said I would make him look silly, I said he wouldn't hit me and that is what I did, I have beaten the biggest and tallest champion of all time."
Haye insisted his speed and athleticism was the key to the shock upset in just his third heavyweight fight as he inflicted only the second defeat of Valuev's career.
"The key was speed," insisted the new world champion. "People don't realise I am very fast, I have powerful punches.
"It was my speed and power. I am an athlete and if I wasn't boxing I would be playing football or rugby.
"Being a good athlete means you can put on good performances like that. My athleticism made the difference."
Valuev, 36, admitted he was shocked by Haye's performance.
"From my point of view, the main thing which went wrong today was the pace," said the Russian.
"It was like a marathon for me and I wasn't prepared to run so much like you would in a world championships."
Haye said he sees few problems against Ruiz, a former WBA champion.
"I don't think he is the most entertaining. He has won the world title before and you don't do that by being a bad fighter," said Haye.
"I will be way too fast, I will knock him out."
Copyright © 2009 AFP.
Source: Google News
NUREMBERG, Germany — David Haye landed the WBA heavyweight title with victory over Nikolai Valuev and then set his sights on the Klitschko brothers as part of his quest to dominate the division.
The 29-year-old from London scored a majority decision verdict after taking the 2.13m tall, 143kg Russian giant the full twelve-round distance, using his superior speed to stay away from his opponent's close-range punches.
Haye must now face John Ruiz of the United States in a mandatory defence, but says he will then seek out either IBF and WBO champion Wladimir Klitscko or his brother Vitali, the WBC champion.
"Anyone who has a belt is in my sights now - definitely the Klitschkos," said Haye, who had secured fights with both Ukrainian brothers last summer only for the match-ups to fall through.
"The Klitschkos tried to lock me down in a crazy contract. I am free now to fight who I want to."
Haye revealed he had damaged his right hand early in Saturday's fight and was shocked at how hard Valuev's head was to punch.
"I damaged my right early in the fight, I think it was the second round, he has a very hard head, it was like punching a brick wall," said Haye.
"I have hit heavy bags before in the gym, but I knew I had broken my hand straight away."
Haye, Britain's first heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis's retirement in 2003, said it was an incredible feeling to have won.
"It's a bit surreal to be honest. When you strive for something your whole life, what do you do?" he said.
"Some people said I was crazy to fight this guy, but I proved the Hayemaker can turn it on when he wants to.
"I think I can clean up in this division and there is plenty more to come."
Having branded Valuev "a circus freak" before the fight, Haye said he had proved his value as a showman by backing up his brash claims.
"I say what the fight fans want to hear, I talk big and then I produce the goods," he said.
"I said I would make him look silly, I said he wouldn't hit me and that is what I did, I have beaten the biggest and tallest champion of all time."
Haye insisted his speed and athleticism was the key to the shock upset in just his third heavyweight fight as he inflicted only the second defeat of Valuev's career.
"The key was speed," insisted the new world champion. "People don't realise I am very fast, I have powerful punches.
"It was my speed and power. I am an athlete and if I wasn't boxing I would be playing football or rugby.
"Being a good athlete means you can put on good performances like that. My athleticism made the difference."
Valuev, 36, admitted he was shocked by Haye's performance.
"From my point of view, the main thing which went wrong today was the pace," said the Russian.
"It was like a marathon for me and I wasn't prepared to run so much like you would in a world championships."
Haye said he sees few problems against Ruiz, a former WBA champion.
"I don't think he is the most entertaining. He has won the world title before and you don't do that by being a bad fighter," said Haye.
"I will be way too fast, I will knock him out."
Copyright © 2009 AFP.
Source: Google News
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More of a runner than a gunner, Haye-Valuev post fight opinion
BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com
David Haye is certainly a good boxer. No doubt about that. And I have tons of respect for this now WBA heavyweight champion.
However, his performance against Nikolai Value didn’t really impress me and I think the judges got it wrong. Sure it wasn’t an easy fight to score but isn’t it a fact that if you’re a challenger, you have to take the fight to the champion? Isn’t it a fact that when a round is too close to call, you have to give credit to the more aggressive fighter? Well, I guess these facts are not facts at all because they were obviously not taken into consideration in this fight.
I watched the fight twice now to see if there’s anything that I missed. Guess what, there wasn’t and I am quite confident that Valuev won this fight by at least a round or two. Sure, Haye had Valuev hurt in the final round but he wasn’t dominant enough in that round to receive a 10-8 score, at least in my view. But I could be wrong.
Haye, with all his pre-fight bravados, didn’t do what he said we would do before the fight and didn’t live up to my expectation. What he was in that ring was more of a sprinter rather than a boxer, more of a runner rather than a gunner. To make matter worst, he had this excuse that he hurt his hands early in the fight so he was not able to be more aggressive as much as he would like to. Well, he used those very same “damaged” hands to hurt Valuev in the 12th round, didn’t he?
The thing is Haye is a talented and powerful fighter and I think he would have knocked down, if not knocked out, Valuev with those power bombs of his if hadn’t run all night.
David Haye is certainly a good boxer. No doubt about that. And I have tons of respect for this now WBA heavyweight champion.
However, his performance against Nikolai Value didn’t really impress me and I think the judges got it wrong. Sure it wasn’t an easy fight to score but isn’t it a fact that if you’re a challenger, you have to take the fight to the champion? Isn’t it a fact that when a round is too close to call, you have to give credit to the more aggressive fighter? Well, I guess these facts are not facts at all because they were obviously not taken into consideration in this fight.
I watched the fight twice now to see if there’s anything that I missed. Guess what, there wasn’t and I am quite confident that Valuev won this fight by at least a round or two. Sure, Haye had Valuev hurt in the final round but he wasn’t dominant enough in that round to receive a 10-8 score, at least in my view. But I could be wrong.
Haye, with all his pre-fight bravados, didn’t do what he said we would do before the fight and didn’t live up to my expectation. What he was in that ring was more of a sprinter rather than a boxer, more of a runner rather than a gunner. To make matter worst, he had this excuse that he hurt his hands early in the fight so he was not able to be more aggressive as much as he would like to. Well, he used those very same “damaged” hands to hurt Valuev in the 12th round, didn’t he?
The thing is Haye is a talented and powerful fighter and I think he would have knocked down, if not knocked out, Valuev with those power bombs of his if hadn’t run all night.
Haye majority decisions Valuev
BoxingNewsWorld.blogspot.com
Englishman David Haye wins a majority decision over Russian Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA heavyweight title. Two judges scrored the 12-round fight 116-112 for Haye and one had it 114 even.
It was not at all an exciting fight as Haye opted for hit-and-run strategy, circling around the ring while throwing occasional body and head punches.
The Russian threw lots of jabs, most of them hit only air, and kept following and chasing his quicker opponent instead of cutting the ring.
In the final round, Haye wobbled Valuev with a couple of powerful punches to the head and tried but failed to knock-out his tough and huge opponent.
Englishman David Haye wins a majority decision over Russian Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA heavyweight title. Two judges scrored the 12-round fight 116-112 for Haye and one had it 114 even.
It was not at all an exciting fight as Haye opted for hit-and-run strategy, circling around the ring while throwing occasional body and head punches.
The Russian threw lots of jabs, most of them hit only air, and kept following and chasing his quicker opponent instead of cutting the ring.
In the final round, Haye wobbled Valuev with a couple of powerful punches to the head and tried but failed to knock-out his tough and huge opponent.
Manny Pacquiao fight with Miguel Cotto a classic in the making
By Gareth A Davies, telegraph.co.uk
Arum, speaking exclusively to Telegraph Sport from the Top Rank offices in Las Vegas, explained: "I see this fight as a modern version of Duran v Hagler, or a Hagler v Hearns fight. It has that feel about it, that kind of excitement.
"Two great fighters, loved in boxing. Magazine stories, unprecedented media requests, two entire countries following their fighters, I really believe that on the night this will turn out to be a classic."
Sport on television Marvin Hagler v Thomas Hearns, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in April 1985, is regarded by many as the most exciting eight minutes in fight history, with Hagler the winner by a technical knockout in the third round. It was Fight of the Year after both men went at it from the opening bell like men possessed.
Cotto against Pacquiao brings together two fighters who are sporting icons in Puerto Rico and the Philippines respectively, and who are regarded as boxing's No 3 and No 1 pound-for-pound, respectively, at present.
Cotto, 29, a two-weight world champion, has fought at welterweight for three years, and has been beaten only once in 35 contests, while Pacquiao, 30, attempts to win a seventh world title in a seventh weight division, which has seen him come up over eight years from flyweight to welterweight. He has been beaten twice in his 55-fight career, with two draws.
Although this contest is taking place at 145lbs, Cotto's World Boxing Organisation welterweight (147lb) crown is on the table.
When Hagler and Hearns met in 1985, for the WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titles, Hagler was 30, and had lost only twice, much earlier in his career, while Hearns was 26 and had been beaten just once, stopped in the 14th round by Sugar Ray Leonard.
Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, visited both training camps – in Baguio City in the Philippines and Tampa, Florida.
"The way Manny and Miguel are talking about it, it could be like the three-round war between Hagler and Hearns," said Arum. "The conventional wisdom is that Cotto is best when he's aggressive, but I don't know if he feels he can be aggressive with this guy from the get-go. But if Cotto is aggressive, though, it could be a Hagler v Hearns all over again.
"People ask what it's like promoting two fighters under you. It's only a win if it turns out to be the great fight you think it'll be.Then, in spite of there being a loser, both men are elevated in the eyes of the public."
So, what of preparation? "Cotto is very, very confident," said Arun. "His work effort is very, very good. He's been very methodical. He hasn't changed anything with his workouts, doing what he has always done.
"Obviously in sparring, he's been trying to be able to counter what he expects Pacquiao to do. Cotto will be Cotto on the night. He's a big, strong welterweight with a great left hand and a great body punch."
Over to Camp Pacquiao. "The other guy is inhuman," laughed Arum. "I've never seen anyone work like he does. Four hours without taking a break and at the end he has some guy with a pole hitting him in the gut for five minutes. It's almost like he's superhuman. It's like Bruce Lee coming to boxing, that's what it's like. He was sparring with Shawn Porter, who is a big guy, a junior middleweight, who is fast, and very good. To my view, from one day to the next he just gets better and better.
"I can see now why Ricky Hatton got blown away. No one has ever seen anything like this in boxing. When he's sparring it's almost like he's doing magic. It's eerie to watch Pacquaio. His is a workout the most dedicated athlete in the world couldn't duplicate."
The $6 million question is who will win?
Understandably, Arum cannot call it. "I don't know who's going to win this fight. Cotto is the strongest, best fighter Pacquiao has ever been up against, and I don't know how he'll deal with that. Cotto will know he can't compete with this guy in speed or technique. With Pacquiao, you've got to time him and tag him, try to hurt him and slow the guy up."
Arum paused. "Look, something about Pacquiao isn't human. He's already planning his normal concert – where he'll play and sing for an hour and a half to fans – in the middle of preparing for all this."
If it lives us to its billing, Cotto v Pacquiao could become a classic.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
Arum, speaking exclusively to Telegraph Sport from the Top Rank offices in Las Vegas, explained: "I see this fight as a modern version of Duran v Hagler, or a Hagler v Hearns fight. It has that feel about it, that kind of excitement.
"Two great fighters, loved in boxing. Magazine stories, unprecedented media requests, two entire countries following their fighters, I really believe that on the night this will turn out to be a classic."
Sport on television Marvin Hagler v Thomas Hearns, at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, in April 1985, is regarded by many as the most exciting eight minutes in fight history, with Hagler the winner by a technical knockout in the third round. It was Fight of the Year after both men went at it from the opening bell like men possessed.
Cotto against Pacquiao brings together two fighters who are sporting icons in Puerto Rico and the Philippines respectively, and who are regarded as boxing's No 3 and No 1 pound-for-pound, respectively, at present.
Cotto, 29, a two-weight world champion, has fought at welterweight for three years, and has been beaten only once in 35 contests, while Pacquiao, 30, attempts to win a seventh world title in a seventh weight division, which has seen him come up over eight years from flyweight to welterweight. He has been beaten twice in his 55-fight career, with two draws.
Although this contest is taking place at 145lbs, Cotto's World Boxing Organisation welterweight (147lb) crown is on the table.
When Hagler and Hearns met in 1985, for the WBC, WBA and IBF middleweight titles, Hagler was 30, and had lost only twice, much earlier in his career, while Hearns was 26 and had been beaten just once, stopped in the 14th round by Sugar Ray Leonard.
Arum, who promotes both Pacquiao and Cotto, visited both training camps – in Baguio City in the Philippines and Tampa, Florida.
"The way Manny and Miguel are talking about it, it could be like the three-round war between Hagler and Hearns," said Arum. "The conventional wisdom is that Cotto is best when he's aggressive, but I don't know if he feels he can be aggressive with this guy from the get-go. But if Cotto is aggressive, though, it could be a Hagler v Hearns all over again.
"People ask what it's like promoting two fighters under you. It's only a win if it turns out to be the great fight you think it'll be.Then, in spite of there being a loser, both men are elevated in the eyes of the public."
So, what of preparation? "Cotto is very, very confident," said Arun. "His work effort is very, very good. He's been very methodical. He hasn't changed anything with his workouts, doing what he has always done.
"Obviously in sparring, he's been trying to be able to counter what he expects Pacquiao to do. Cotto will be Cotto on the night. He's a big, strong welterweight with a great left hand and a great body punch."
Over to Camp Pacquiao. "The other guy is inhuman," laughed Arum. "I've never seen anyone work like he does. Four hours without taking a break and at the end he has some guy with a pole hitting him in the gut for five minutes. It's almost like he's superhuman. It's like Bruce Lee coming to boxing, that's what it's like. He was sparring with Shawn Porter, who is a big guy, a junior middleweight, who is fast, and very good. To my view, from one day to the next he just gets better and better.
"I can see now why Ricky Hatton got blown away. No one has ever seen anything like this in boxing. When he's sparring it's almost like he's doing magic. It's eerie to watch Pacquaio. His is a workout the most dedicated athlete in the world couldn't duplicate."
The $6 million question is who will win?
Understandably, Arum cannot call it. "I don't know who's going to win this fight. Cotto is the strongest, best fighter Pacquiao has ever been up against, and I don't know how he'll deal with that. Cotto will know he can't compete with this guy in speed or technique. With Pacquiao, you've got to time him and tag him, try to hurt him and slow the guy up."
Arum paused. "Look, something about Pacquiao isn't human. He's already planning his normal concert – where he'll play and sing for an hour and a half to fans – in the middle of preparing for all this."
If it lives us to its billing, Cotto v Pacquiao could become a classic.
Source: telegraph.co.uk
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