David Haye - A tribute!!

You can count the name of British boxers that have transcended the sport and are known on both sides of the Atlantic on one hand in the last forty years..David Haye without doubt is one of these and I'm sorry people have failed to see the wider picture and are hammering him from pillar to post..

Sure he could've pretended to be nice remember Bruno to Honey "I told him if he acts humble he could make money" or be himself..Me I have more respect for a guy being himself...Heck I didn't much like him either if honest..

However he's one of the greatest British fighters of alltime...he was exciting, talented and brought aestheticity back to the Heavyweight division if only for a short period...

He unified the cruiser (basically) ...became a top 3 cruiser of alltime in my opinion and became one of a handful to mix with men a lot bigger and take home the big prize.....

Yep he cocked up his last fight but how many top fighters leave on a victory???

A great British standard bearer and I'm sorry he's getting the flak he is albeit some of it is deserved!!!..especially toe-gate!

Fighters like Haye don't grow on many British trees....try to appreciate him more....respect what he has achieved..

On a side note mCcrory thinks the Haye performance was calculated and that's okay!! So screwing British fans out of thousands of pounds is okay....Class act!!!

Whatever good luck to Haye........wish him the best for his future..

brought aestheticity back to the Heavyweight division if only for a short period...

So you liked him because he looked good? Okayyyyy...

If you've got nothing sensible to say......

Pretty much agree with what you're saying here, Truss.

Thanks for the grown up contribution Fists....

Haye was a good servant to British boxing..Unforunately comes from a Country who disrespect there own..

50% of people on here wanted Klits to win!! crazy!

It really is crazy. If the Americans had to dislike one of their own every time they made an outlandish statement they'd despise their entire stock of fighters!

Get behind them, it's all part of the fight game, brings excitement, and some fighters get themselves hyped up for a fight in such a way.

Poor performance against Wlad, but that shouldn't take away from what was a fine career at cruiser and a couple of fights at heavy such as the Valuev fight, where I feel he doesn't get as much credit as he maybe deserves.

Don't like Mayweather much but I support him against a guy who's not American....

It's just something that should come natural..

That's how I see it, too, but I know a number on here don't see it that way.

No because they are selfish types who don't understand pride in ones Country....

However I'm sure serving types like the Brit soldiers in Afghanistan understand..

Thank God they do and bless them..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:No because they are selfish types who don't understand pride in ones Country....

However I'm sure serving types like the Brit soldiers in Afghanistan understand..

Thank God they do and bless them..

Mind you don't suffer vertigo on that high horse there...

You've got nothing to say....go away.

I never liked the guy. Something just didn't sit right from the time of the T-shirts with the decapitated heads.

I agree with supporting your own and I generally do. I just think the British public turned on Haye because they felt duped.

In Britain a gallant loser is never chastised. What Haye did was just not very British. Where was the British stiff upper lip in the face of defeat, the dignity and the respect for the better man (Wlad).

Britain will always respect a sportsman who when staring in the face of defeat adopts the head down bloody minded approach.

You're Irish...

People can represent their country poorly though Truss, and I guess some feel that Haye did so in 1) fighting Audley (which was abject) and 2) abusing Wlad and talking himself up to a ludicrous degree then spending the majority of their fight on the floor/running for dear life.

I got the sense that his HW career was just an attempt to make money at the expense of the sport. I believe that he will have turned many casual fans off boxing with his HW antics.

Having said that, I respect what he achieved at CW, and moving up to HW and winning a title is impressive. Good luck to him, but I personally would not want to see the Haye circus return to boxing.

I've been over here twenty years and hand on heart can say that...

Anyone who is good and knows it... gets hated over here!! as if it is a crime.

Much better to be artificial like Frank Bruno and pretend you're humble and harmless even if you're not...to get a few extra bucks..

Me I like a guy/girl who does it his/her way...and sack it..

I value individuality and self honesty.......

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:You've got nothing to say....go away.

Always reliable Truss aren't you? When you've nothing intelligent to say you get tetchy and rude. Your blind patriotism would effectively see you support a child raping murderer over a children's cancer specialist providing the former was American and the latter wasn't. Well done.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:

Unforunately comes from a Country who disrespect there own..

I'd say it's a country that can choose who they will support based on their opinions rather than the mindless "I have to support everyone British because I'm British mindset". Also agree with the sentiments of Strongback. Why should anyone British support a man who is no better than a commoon thief for fleecing their money the way he did?

So everybody else is proud of their Country's heroes but you'll support Germany over England and are proud of it!!

Queer fellow you really are...

Takes an American to write a tribute to one of the greatest British fighters of alltime on a British board..

and like it or not he is..

Truss the gadfly strikes again. Devil's advocate is one thing, but come on. Answer me this one question - who wrote the following:


"Take a huge payday, set up for life and all his facilities in tact!!!

Congratulations Vlad..You showed real heart and commitment...True champion...

HAYE retire Son....

Wrote an article some time ago asking if Haye will take the money and run.......He did"


Let's save the praise and respect for those who really deserve it, shall we?

Yes but like I say I see the whole picture...

I was equally harsh on Spinks non-effort too..

But I still regard him highly...

So there..

So you praise him highly for being the third best (by your estimation) champion in the history of a division which you have long been on record as saying shouldn't exist and has always been full of hopeless fighters, and for winning a strap at heavyweight, defending it twice, including once against a media personality, and then losing it by "taking the money and running"?

Fair enough, I suppose. What praise would be sufficient for him if he had actually beaten Klitschko?

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:I've been over here twenty years and hand on heart can say that...

Anyone who is good and knows it... gets hated over here!! as if it is a crime.

Much better to be artificial like Frank Bruno and pretend you're humble and harmless even if you're not...to get a few extra bucks..

Me I like a guy/girl who does it his/her way...and sack it..

I value individuality and self honesty.......

I value class, respect, dignity

Haye is lacking in all these departments.

The idea that Britain hates talented athletes is misguided. Most people that dislike Haye (myself included) do so because of his behaviour, hypocrisy and his personality. It has nothing to do with his ability.

Ironically, Haye made his money because he made many people believe he was the best and by shouting his mouth off so the I think you are entirely incorrect he would have made more money by acting like Frank Bruno.

I also find it strange that in true British tabloid manner, you wrote an article soon after the Haye defeat in which you tore him down. This having built him up and telling us all why the boxing world needed him as champion - your much repeated view that he was good looking and charismatic. Now you claim you dont really like him. Its confusing and inconsistent to say the least.

People liked Frank Bruno, because he appeared to be a good guy. Many disliked Haye because it appeared he wasnt. Why this should be so hard to understand is beyond me.

I'd like to get rid of all the junior divisions.........

I think Louis fought crud but have him second in my heavy list..

You don't like him...you're opinion is as you'll agree.. biased..

Mine isn't..

He's not a great Brit then??????

Undisputed champion who went up and won the heavy crown..


Your Island is full of guys like that..

I'm only speaking from my experience Colonel....I welcome opposite opinions...

Anyone who seems to get big here..majority of people sem to want to see brought down...instead of idolised..

I don't value disrespectful people much either but I value people who perform heroics for my Country and are fighting under the same flag..regardless of whether I like them..

Me I preferred Hatton to Mayweather as a human being but I still wanted Floyd to win...

We aren't all made the same though and freedom of speech is a wonderful thing..

Top 30 UK fighter, as I said just the other day. His record certainly doesn't entitle him to anything higher. In one respect, you are right, however. We do have a habit of undervaluing our truly accomplished performers. Someone like Froch, for example. Now there is someone beside whose accomplishments Haye's pale in comparison, in my opinion. He may not be as "aesthetic" as Haye, as if that mattered at all, but he gets the job done without resorting to the really crass behaviour that Haye has made his personal trademark. That's a British great, who, if he beats Ward, will be a bona fide all-time British great.

Top 30??????

Garbage.....Name me ten who have achieved more than him in the game...

Champion at two weights...unified one of the weights...transcended the sport!!

No doubt one defence and then shutout by Duran.. Buchanan is higher...

Laguna was half decent though...I'll give you that...

Haye should have said his P's and Q's and said "know what I mean Harry.."

no doubt he'd be top 20 then...

Poor old David..

you Brits.....you don't half disrespect your own..

I'll be honest with you guys the perverse pleasure even guys like Rowley took after seeing Haye busted was disgraceful...

say what you like about Haye but guys like Froch will never transcend like him..

Hatton and Lewis were the only others to get a name in America in the last 30 years and to a lesser extent Naz..

Respect that..

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:You're Irish...

I never said I was British. I'm not the one who's confused about where he comes from.

It doesn't matter if it's Ireland or the UK the attitude is same when he comes to sports stars. If anything it would be worse in Ireland for Haye as Irish TV has a policy that pundits must give their warts and all honest opinion which isn't always the case on the BBC or ITV and certainly not on Box Nation.

Ten who have achieved more in the game...I'll see your ten and at least double it (Buchanan made two defences by the way and defeated men as accomplished as an old Ortiz, Navarro, Hernandez and Watt, as well as being voted the Fighter of the Year for 1970 by the American Boxing Writers). Ted Kid Lewis, Wilde, Lennox Lewis, Welsh, Calzaghe, Buchanan, Driscoll, Moran, Berg, Hamed, Turpin, Conteh, Lynch, Honeyghan, Hatton, Eubank, Benn, Froch, Amir Khan, Watt, McGuigan, Kane, Winstone, Andries, Boza-Edwards....that's probably not completely it, but it's a good start.

Oh and transcending boxing, as you put it, makes damn all difference in calibrating a fighter's achievements, or Tyson would be the second greatest heavyweight of all time.

I respect Haye's achievements...

Brought charisma, talent, speed, publicity and achievement to a division which was sorely lacking....

Also unified a poor division but unified it none the less......a double weight world champion!!! From a Country starved of success!!

I don't/didn't like Nixon but he got the troops out of Vietnam and did more for conservation in America than most other Presidents combined......

I see the whole picture...

You should try to do it sometime..

Nixon?! Took him six and a half years to get the troops out of Vietnam, but better late than never, I suppose.

Charisma and publicity don't matter; records do. Lennox Lewis had the charisma of a piece of plywood, in my opinion, but retired wealthier than Haye, with a better record and with a legacy. Haye's charisma and record leave him with the doubtful privilege of the contempt of quite a lot of the boxing fraternity.

TRUSSMAN66 wrote:Top 30??????

Garbage.....Name me ten who have achieved more than him in the game...

Champion at two weights...unified one of the weights...transcended the sport!!

No doubt one defence and then shutout by Duran.. Buchanan is higher...

Laguna was half decent though...I'll give you that...

Haye should have said his P's and Q's and said "know what I mean Harry.."

no doubt he'd be top 20 then...

Poor old David..

you Brits.....you don't half disrespect your own..

It's not about disrespecting 'our own'. It's about giving each individual the due respect we as individuals feel they deserve. Try writing something that doesn't scream out desperately for attention Truss.

I never really saw Haye as charismatic. He was more of a guy who could speak quite well in comparison to a lot of other boxers.

I never found him particular charming. I don't think he has the empathy with people that say Wlad does for instance.

Liking and respecting someone are different things. He is acknowledged as a good cruiserweight and deserves to be. He is acknowledged as a flash in the pan ordinary heavyweight, and deserves to be.

He was a paper heavyweight champion, no more than that. He transcended the sport momentarily, largely for the wrong reasons, and with little to show for it by falling way short on the biggest stage.

Charismatic? No not particularly. Exciting? As a cruiserweight yes, as a heavyweight no.

His best wins are Valuev and Mormeck, hardly the kind of victories that entitle to him to undying adulation and a place among Britains finest. When added to his unamiable personality and generally poor behaviour I dont see why its so difficult to understand that people do not view him as a modern day hero.

As a heavyweight, he was forgetteable. No better than Bruno and much less likeable in general. As a cruiserweight, he will be respected, although his short reign there and the weakness of the division will see him struggle to be remembered as a British great.

I've been a big fan of haye since his cruiser days, always liked him and his style and after his success at cruiser had high hopes for him at heavy. No problem with his smack talking, it's all in the game and it's been going on for decades. Have to say he went down in my estimation over the last year, firstly with the Harrison fight which was a joke and a con, an embarrassment for haye given his big talk. And secondly because of the negative wlad performance and embarrassing injury excuse. No shame in losing to the best, but I just felt he let himself down a bit with all that. But if he came out if retirement I'd still be cheering him on, that's just the way it is.

I'm all for patriotism in sport, but I don't think it should be a blind thing - if margarito was a Brit I'd still detest him and cheer any foreigner on against him. Didn't lose any sleep over barker losing to Martinez as I'm a fan of Sergio and for me, with boxing at least, talent and personal conduct supersede nationality in terms of what I admire/support.

I like him, especially after seeing him on The Paul O'Grady show, last November

He seems like a thoroughly nice guy.

David Haye & Paul O'Grady -part 1( before the fight) - Youtube

David Haye & Paul O'Grady - part 2 (after the fight) - Youtube

I've just watched them again, they're very funny.

Happy retirement, Mr.Haye : )

I agree with the OP people here are being harsh on Haye lets remember all the good things he did why focus on the negatives? Yes he lost to Klichko but there is no shame in that they have been dominating the division for years and are absolute quality. Haye could have fought nobodies for years or stayed at cruiserweight but he did not do that he wanted to face the best and become the best it was just a shame he did not get his tactics right and Klichko was the better fighter on the night.

Lets also remember he is one of the greatest cruiserweights of all time he unified the division. I for one hope that Haye does not stay retired I would like to see him back against a Klichko. It is sad to see such a lack of support for a true British champ I reckon if he were an old time boxer or American people would be praising him.

I keep asking myself if Haye did any better at heavy than Joe Bugner would have against the same opposition.

I dare say Bugner might have taken a while longer to have gotten Ruiz out of there, given his cautious style, but I'm pretty sure that, had Harrison gotten under Bugner's skin, he would have flattened him in short order. Remember Richard Dunn? I have little doubt that the Bugner who gave Frazier a decent fight would have given Wlad a wee bit more to think about than did Haye.

Haye won a belt; Bugner didn't. Haye was ' charismatic ' - or plain obnoxious ; Bugner had the charisma of a goldfish. Trimmings aside, though, was Haye a better heavyweight than Bugner?

Who cares.....Mallory probably deserved to climb Everest ahead of Tensing...

You do or you don't..

Praise the guys that do more!!

TRUSS Haye is NOT well kn own in the states as you suggest and you damn well know this.

He is known in the States.......which means he has transended..Name recognition etc..

You're supposed to agree with me..you're my alias..

Usman Ahmed transcended the sport, hes an internet phenomenon. It doesnt neccessarily equate to greatness when the reason behind it is being knocked out following a ridiculous entrance video.

Likewise Haye transcended the sport briefly but will be remembered mostly for a non performance and an injured toe, if hes remembered at all.

Not worth responding to.....

Much like this article in general.

You don't make a name for yourself without fighting in the states.

If you look at him as a money-making businessman, then he has done exceptionally well. He knew he was in with a decent chance against any of the 2nd tier heavies so once he'd cleaned up the Cruisers, why not go for the heavies? Much more money there. He bragged about wanting to fight a Klitschko or two and made himself a pain in the backside with them until he got the fight. Yes, sure he was well-beaten, but he wanted his retirement fund.

He has also got the casual fans talking about boxing again and THAT I believe is something that an uninspiring type of fighter would not have done. Brash and unpleasant makes the headlines; polite and nice does not.

He had genuine knockout power and fast hands which got people talking again about the heavyweight division. You don't watch the heavies for clean clinical boxing ability - people want the devastating knockouts from the big men. Haye at least offered the threat of that, and lets' face it - the first knockdown of Ruiz (regardless of his age!) was both brutal and unexpected.

I didn't like the t-shirts, but as a fight seller and a fighter with the potential to excite, there were few like him in the British ring.

Enjoy your retirement David.

All great fighters tend to be interested in money????

It's a profession.....

Come on Man...

You can't knock a guy who has achieved like very few other Brits in history..

You don't make a name for yourself without fighting in the states.