Anyone else warming to Wlad?

He's coming accross really well in the build up.
Ok, ok, his jokes about twitter fell flat as he has doesn’t have the comic timing of paul merton, but he's a very likable guy.

I've always wanted to see haye knock his head off, and will be heavily supporting haye in the fight but im warming to Wlad and he's presenting himself very, very well.

Haye's playing the same old angry man doing his best to save boxing from the boredom. In fact, every interesting thing he's said about this fight was said 2 years ago when it was first made. Now it's the same old story over and over. Wlad isnt getting wound up, or isnt letting on that he is, he's joking and smiling and you wouldn’t think he's got the biggest fight of his life in 2 months.

This is the video of Wlad on bbc news, wooing the studio and even planting a kiss on Sian.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/13357472.stm

From what I have seen of him he is coming across well and for me Haye needs to tread a careful path because the more the British public see of Wlad the more they are going to realise Haye's words hardly chime with the intelligent, articulate gracious guy we see promoting the fight. Possible Haye could risk coming across as plain spiteful or at least graceless.

Also he could get away with the boring stuff two years ago but in the intervening period he had inflicted on us Valuev and Harrison, two fights hardly likely to feature on anyone's desert island fights collection anytime soon and the comofrtable equal of any snorefest Wlad has served up

He comes across well enough I suppose but I can't say that I'm warming to him or will ever do so. I find him far too manufactured, not just as a fighter but as a "personality".

It's all a little TOO polished and scripted for my liking. His smooching of the BBC lady came across as creepy as opposed to charming...but that's just my take on it.

No, I'm not. Trying far too hard to play a nice guy, and as Haye says, he just ends up sounding more and more like Borat.

Well sod you, you pair of miserable so and so's. I think he sounds a lovely bloke.

I've always thought he comes across well and is a much better 'person' than Haye but I still want Haye to knock him out!

I find Wlad false. Almost like an American aspiring reality tv star. He sounds like Borat also. I hope Haye KOs him (cant see that happening though).

Nope.

I think he is deliberately playing it cool to try and shake Haye and make it appear that he is focussed on nothing but the fight.

If he doesn't get a rise out of him, Haye may have to change tact otherwise it's just going to be him hurling insults into a black hole.

At the risk of sounding like a whiny tree hugging liberal all this he sounds like Borat lark is a bit offensive. How well can any of us converse in another language let alone three or four as I believe Wlad does. Personally think it is admirable we have a world heavyweight champion who can converse in a foreign langauge as articulately as Wlad does

Warming?

I'm just hoping Haye knocks him into A&E for a couple of nights which will allow me (and my bottle of rohypnol) to dive into action with his mrs!

Seems an ok guy, just wish he'd stop trying to be Ali with the taunts. Really doesn't suit him, almost makes me cringe like David Brent and i HATED watching him!

DAVE667 wrote:He comes across well enough I suppose but I can't say that I'm warming to him or will ever do so. I find him far too manufactured, not just as a fighter but as a "personality".

It's all a little TOO polished and scripted for my liking. His smooching of the BBC lady came across as creepy as opposed to charming...but that's just my take on it.

Totally agree with the above.
Fair point JR I been guilty of the Borat-isms too.However...sorry to say this, but Haye IS spiteful and petty...they are both prize berks.

Tree Hugging Liberal.

Its his voice and tone (plus accent) that sounds like Borat.

personally I'd rather a HW champ who is larger than life and wants to eat babies for breakfast. and not some professor who plays the role model stuff.

Ex Sociology graduate Az, i'm afraid it goes with the turf. Just all a bit too "let's all laugh at how the funny foreigner talks" for my liking.

Wlad is a very hard person to warm too, don't really dislike him, just don't think he offers a lot, especially as a heavyweight champion.

Haye bores me, his anger problems result in 'violate', other horrible words we dont need in the sport being talked about day in day out, to be truthful, i've had skysports news on and have turned over as soon as his mouth comes on, i refuse to take him seriously after the farce of fighting Harrison, its your duty as a world champ to fight genuine fights, not kill the sport. I heard Wlad the other day, the guy oozes dignity, respect and has obviously done far more in boxing. Haye will always be a tool who has anger trouble, i remember him 3 years ago, hadnt even had a fight at heavyweight went flying up an esculator with a stupid bandana on demanding a fight with Wladimir, he was fuming, you could hear him bubbling over in his voice, unfortunately though for himself as soon as that glass chin and poor fitness get tested, he's a gonner. I'm not bothered what anyone says that guy's stamina is terrible.

https://2img.net/r/ihimg/photo/my-images/28/mankinib.jpg/

personally I'd rather a HW champ who is larger than life and wants to eat babies for breakfast. and not some professor who plays the role model stuff.
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By that you mean a genuine lunatic who was sparked out by Buster Douglas, mmmmm

I thought he was trying too hard to be nice. I think he wanted to show or pretend that he's not angry at Haye but it seemed false.

The Press conferences have been interesting for the amount of acting going on on both sides.

Have I warmed to Wlad? No, he is still an overated fighter who has avoided too many fighters and settled for fighting hasbeens and nobodies.

rowley wrote:Ex Sociology graduate Az, i'm afraid it goes with the turf. Just all a bit too "let's all laugh at how the funny foreigner talks" for my liking.

I thought that, coming from Yorkshire, you'd be used to it now, Jeff

(Bloke from the South attempting northern accent) "Eeeeh by gum, av just got t' t' t' t' t' put t' t' t' cows int' t' t' t' t' top field"

(Bloke from 'oop North' in response) "Gaaoorrrn an...fackorfyewstewpidfackincantchewfackinwonsam eh?


Steven wrote - i refuse to take him seriously after the farce of fighting Harrison, its your duty as a world champ to fight genuine fights, not kill the sport.
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Think you might want to go and check your "I Love Wlad" scrapbook as there may be a huge space in the section marked "Greatest Fights"

Steven_89 wrote:personally I'd rather a HW champ who is larger than life and wants to eat babies for breakfast. and not some professor who plays the role model stuff.
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By that you mean a genuine lunatic who was sparked out by Buster Douglas, mmmmm

That type of champ. As opposed to a gent sparked out by some fat south african and another fat american. I'd like the champ to have personality and charisma. Wlad had the charisma and personality of a plank. Nice bloke though. But...........!

rowley wrote:At the risk of sounding like a whiny tree hugging liberal all this he sounds like Borat lark is a bit offensive. How well can any of us converse in another language let alone three or four as I believe Wlad does. Personally think it is admirable we have a world heavyweight champion who can converse in a foreign langauge as articulately as Wlad does

You whiny tree hugging liberal jeff! I'm just waiting for the moment wlad emerges from a tv studio toilet with a bag of turd ala borat, then I'll really warm to him.

I've always liked him, comes across well to me - sometimes he's starts dying on his backside a but at press conferences as he drones on too long, bit I don't see why haye has to be so abusive to him or about him. In mocking wlads record and ability he's only serving to cheapen any victory he may get over him.

rowley wrote:Ex Sociology graduate Az, i'm afraid it goes with the turf. Just all a bit too "let's all laugh at how the funny foreigner talks" for my liking.

Tree hugging, bleeding hearted, do gooder liberal. I hear what you say and agree with it somewhat. I thought everyone was a bloomin' forina.

I think he's naturally quite a family friendly guy and seems to enjoy the limelight. However, due to his accent and broken English, he appears a bit awkward in front of the British media. Hence the Borat comparisons.
I actually think he would better suit a more silent, Ivan Drago type persona. Something his brother appears to have.

Part of the reason he also looks so relaxed and calm is possibly because he and Emmanuel Steward genuinly believe that Haye will be an easy night's work for them. They've probably studied Haye's previous fights intensely and are confident that as long as Wlad keeps the jab popping, Haye will crumble within a few rounds.

I doubt Wlad would look so relaxed if he was two months away from fighting a young Tyson.

WelshDevilRob wrote:I thought he was trying too hard to be nice. I think he wanted to show or pretend that he's not angry at Haye but it seemed false.

The Press conferences have been interesting for the amount of acting going on on both sides.

Have I warmed to Wlad? No, he is still an overated fighter who has avoided too many fighters and settled for fighting hasbeens and nobodies.

Just out of curiosity Rob, which fighters do you think Wlad has avoided?

Probably true JBII. I cant see Haye getting past that jab. Haye has talked himself into this position and in trying to rattle Wlad has achieved nothing. I see a long painful beating dished out by Borat.

Steven_89 wrote:Haye bores me, his anger problems result in 'violate', other horrible words we dont need in the sport being talked about day in day out, to be truthful, i've had skysports news on and have turned over as soon as his mouth comes on, i refuse to take him seriously after the farce of fighting Harrison, its your duty as a world champ to fight genuine fights, not kill the sport. I heard Wlad the other day, the guy oozes dignity, respect and has obviously done far more in boxing. Haye will always be a tool who has anger trouble, i remember him 3 years ago, hadnt even had a fight at heavyweight went flying up an esculator with a stupid bandana on demanding a fight with Wladimir, he was fuming, you could hear him bubbling over in his voice, unfortunately though for himself as soon as that glass chin and poor fitness get tested, he's a gonner. I'm not bothered what anyone says that guy's stamina is terrible.

When has Haye ever shown bad stamina in any fight other than the Thompson fight when he punched himself out to early?

The_Phenom wrote:When has Haye ever shown bad stamina in any fight other than the Thompson fight when he punched himself out to early?

Some say Ruiz, I'm not too sure as I was there and haven't seen a replay, he seemed OK at the time. What I am sure of is that he hasn't proven he has great 12 round stamina since.

As with most fights, I don't care who wins as long as the best boxer wins, i'll be happy.

Wlad come across as a resonable guy and so does Haye but come fight night none of that will matter.

A Haye win will be better for boxing as he is the more exciting fighter but he is retiring at the end of the year, or is he?

Scottrf wrote:

The_Phenom wrote:When has Haye ever shown bad stamina in any fight other than the Thompson fight when he punched himself out to early?

Some say Ruiz, I'm not too sure as I was there and haven't seen a replay, he seemed OK at the time. What I am sure of is that he hasn't proven he has great 12 round stamina since.

Well, seeing as how he's only fought Audley since Riuz and we all know how that went, questioning Haye's ability to go 12 rounds seems somewhat foolish.

The fact remains that both Haye and Wlad are facing their most "live" opponent to date and a case can be made as to why either of them could get the win. The key is Wlad's jab. if he gets it working, Haye will struggle, but if Haye and Booth can work out a strategy to get past it, then Haye's chances of victory are improved massively. Wlad doesn't appear to be a guy who can adjust mid-fight and the worry for him is if Haye DOES take his jab away, does he have a Plan B?

DAVE667 wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

The_Phenom wrote:When has Haye ever shown bad stamina in any fight other than the Thompson fight when he punched himself out to early?

Some say Ruiz, I'm not too sure as I was there and haven't seen a replay, he seemed OK at the time. What I am sure of is that he hasn't proven he has great 12 round stamina since.

Well, seeing as how he's only fought Audley since Riuz and we all know how that went, questioning Haye's ability to go 12 rounds seems somewhat foolish.

Since Thompson. I didn't say he didn't either, I said he hasn't proven he has great 12 round stamina.

You might wanna start using ALL your words Scott instead of leaving your statements open to misinterpretation.

Haye's been 12 rounds twice, fought at his own pace and looked comfortable throughout. Wlad's been the distance numerous times, fought at his own pace and looked comfortable throughout.

Let's see how they cope when someone else is dictating the pace. Wlad seems a tad one dimensional in that department though. he's never changed things up mid-fight, it's always the same old, same old. Haye's beeen know to take a breather then turn up the heat in the next round.

Wlad wears his opponents down gradually, Haye looks to spring traps.

Whose tactis will prevail on the night?

[quote="DAVE667"]You might wanna start using ALL your words Scott instead of leaving your statements open to misinterpretation.

Haye's been 12 rounds twice, fought at his own pace and looked comfortable throughout. Wlad's been the distance numerous times, fought at his own pace and looked comfortable throughout.

Let's see how they cope when someone else is dictating the pace. Wlad seems a tad one dimensional in that department though. he's never changed things up mid-fight, it's always the same old, same old. Haye's beeen know to take a breather then turn up the heat in the next round.

Wlad wears his opponents down gradually, Haye looks to spring traps.

Whose tactis will prevail on the night?[/quote]

Wlad's.

Maybe, just didn't think it was that hard to interpret as it would be a pointless statement otherwise.

He looked comfortable in 12 rounds against Valuev but it wasn't exactly strenous. I think there's a distinction between going 12 rounds and having great 12 round stamina i.e. proving you can do 12 hard rounds against decent opposition.

They are both unlike any opponents either has had, which is what makes it intriguing.

I think there's a distinction between going 12 rounds and having great 12 round stamina i.e. proving you can do 12 hard rounds against decent opposition.


...and when has Wlad done that?

J.Benson II wrote:

WelshDevilRob wrote:I thought he was trying too hard to be nice. I think he wanted to show or pretend that he's not angry at Haye but it seemed false.

The Press conferences have been interesting for the amount of acting going on on both sides.

Have I warmed to Wlad? No, he is still an overated fighter who has avoided too many fighters and settled for fighting hasbeens and nobodies.

Just out of curiosity Rob, which fighters do you think Wlad has avoided?

Avoided is probably the wrong word.

But if we look at the time period that he's been at the top of the division. No Golota, Tua, Ruiz, Holyfield, Grant, Mercer and Rahman (when they could still fight), Maskaev, Briggs, Valuev off the top of my head.

People give Larry Holmes a hard time for missing fights. Lets not forget that the best fighter Wlad has beaten in his reign is either Eddie Chambers or Calvin Brock. I don't rate the Chagaev win as that man was clearly not the fighter he had been due to his illness.

DAVE667 wrote:I think there's a distinction between going 12 rounds and having great 12 round stamina i.e. proving you can do 12 hard rounds against decent opposition.


...and when has Wlad done that?

Noone was questioning Wlad's stamina and he hasn't punched himself out. I was talking about Haye's.

Noone was questioning Wlad's stamina and he hasn't punched himself out. I was talking about Haye's.
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So, Haye get lambasted for gassing in a fight in 2004 that, under today's namby pamby conditions would have been stopped in his favour in about the 3rd round. That's SEVEN years ago...which is the same length of time since Wlad was annihilated by Sanders.

However, Wlad's reluctance to take on anyone with similar attributes in the next seven years is ignored in favour of looking at Haye's lack of 12 round experience?

There's no way Wlad let's this fight go 12 rounds. Steward won't let him for a start. Manny will be telling Wlad to get Haye out of there as soon as possible. Wlad may not give Haye too much of a chance but you can be certain that Manny respects Haye's speed and power and he knows his man will be at risk as long as Haye is in that ring.

Haye himself admits he was naive in the Thompson fight, makes no excuses and says the better man won. Howver he goes on to say that Wlad STILL makes excuses for being stopped by Sanders and Brewster, claiming he was drugged etc. Haye says that if Wlad can't admit his own failings then he's in big trouble.

WelshDevilRob wrote:

J.Benson II wrote:

WelshDevilRob wrote:I thought he was trying too hard to be nice. I think he wanted to show or pretend that he's not angry at Haye but it seemed false.

The Press conferences have been interesting for the amount of acting going on on both sides.

Have I warmed to Wlad? No, he is still an overated fighter who has avoided too many fighters and settled for fighting hasbeens and nobodies.

Just out of curiosity Rob, which fighters do you think Wlad has avoided?

Avoided is probably the wrong word.

But if we look at the time period that he's been at the top of the division. No Golota, Tua, Ruiz, Holyfield, Grant, Mercer and Rahman (when they could still fight), Maskaev, Briggs, Valuev off the top of my head.

People give Larry Holmes a hard time for missing fights. Lets not forget that the best fighter Wlad has beaten in his reign is either Eddie Chambers or Calvin Brock. I don't rate the Chagaev win as that man was clearly not the fighter he had been due to his illness.

He fought Mercer, didnt he?
No disrespect Rob, but you've just accused Wlad of fighting "has-beens" and "nobodies" and than written a list of the fighters he should have faced instead. A list that consists entirely of has-beens and nobodies.
You seriously think boxers like Ruiz, Maskaev and Grant are "names" missing from his record?
Besides, almost all the guys you listed suffered losses to guys that Wlad eventually fought/beat.
For example, Tua was beaten by Byrd, Maskaev beaten by Peter, Briggs beaten by Ibragimov etc.
Surely that would make those names more credible than the ones you listed?

At the end of the day, unless Wlad fought every other month, there is bound to be fights he would have missed. Lennox Lewis is generally regarded as having fought almost all top contenders during his reign. However, there is still a plethora of names missing from his record.
This will always be the case with any boxer.

He fought Mercer and Rahman but like I stated they were past it. Why not fight them earlier when they had something to offer?

Ruiz, Maskaev and Grant at points were names as were Golota and Holyfield.
Why wait to fight fighters once they are completely washed-up?
Briggs is a fine example but he's a Vitali opponent.

Yes, fighters lost to other fighters but then so did many on Klitschko's record. Byrd for example was destroyed by Ike Ibeabuchi a year before Byrd beat Vitali.
Corrie Sanders was Ko'd by Hasim Rahman but he was good enough to defeat Wladimir. Lamon Brewster lost to Clifford Ettienne but again he was good enough to defeat Wlad.

I don't see any comparison with Lennox Lewis resume. With Lewis only one opponent got away and that was Michael Moorer who didn't want to fight him. Some say Byrd and Ruiz but Lennox was at the end of his career and only wanted challenges rather than lowkey defences. Wlad on the other hand has had years to try for the WBA belt but only now is attempting to get it.

WelshDevilRob wrote:Wlad on the other hand has had years to try for the WBA belt but only now is attempting to get it.

He beat the holder already, it's only politics stopping him from holding it.

Scottrf wrote:

WelshDevilRob wrote:Wlad on the other hand has had years to try for the WBA belt but only now is attempting to get it.

He beat the holder already, it's only politics stopping him from holding it.

He beat a man that was medically shown to be unfit to fight. Plus, the WBA belt was there a long time before Chagaev had it.

If you chase the belts you just have more obligations to mandatories etc and that opens up even more problems, and you are likely to be stripped by one of them at one point or another. Ruiz and Valuev would add to his record but hardly career defining.

With both brothers being at the top it also stops either from being undisputed, which should be a champions next mission if they have some more ambition, not saying it has anything to do with the WBA strap though.

When has Haye ever shown bad stamina in any fight other than the Thompson fight when he punched himself out to early?
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Ruiz fight, he was tiring in a 80/20 fight, Barrett was 80/20, Harrison was 80/20, this is his first 50/50 fight, not because of how good he is, but how bad his opponents are, he'll be stopped imo, get his big head jabbed off then stopped, talk is very cheap, especially when you talk as much utter garbage as this idiot does, also im very interested to know who Wlad has 'ducked' welshrob?, im baffled tbh by that

talk is very cheap, especially when you talk as much utter garbage as this idiot does,

You muc have near-terminal negative equity then, Stevie

Wlad will definitely win this in my opinion. I just hope he gets the recognition for it as Haye is a good fighter in any era.

You muc have near-terminal negative equity then, Stevie
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Im sorry i cant read spanish

Steven_89 wrote:You must have near-terminal negative equity then, Stevie
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Im sorry i cant read spanish

That better for you, senor?

Muy bien David