When an overly confident, brash individual appears stunned and surprised to have met their match it's often remarked that they appeared to not know what hit them.
In being comprehensively outboxed by Wladimir Klitschko, it's fair to say that David Haye did know what had hit him.
A jab. Repeatedly thrust into his face, preventing him and psychologically deterring him from roaring forward and smashing Klitschko's supposedly brittle chin.
The heavyweight contest - which was for the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts - was a pretty dull affair but surely that suited the methodical Klitschko. He was able to dictatate the pace and keep Haye on the back foot with his ramrod jab. Basically, he had little need to consider a wider variety of single shots and combinations that might leave himself exposed.
Haye, meanwhile, complained of a broken toe hampering his movement. The post-fight photographs showed this to be genuine yet it was surely a minor irrelevence. The biggest problem for the brash Brit was the size difference. Haye had just about managed to squeeze past the ambling, ungainly Nikolai Valuev, who was 7ft-plus, using superior boxing skills and good footwork but against the 6ft 7in Klitschko it was a bridge too far for the former cruiserweight champion.
On the night, despite the hype and anticipation, Klitschko and Haye did not blend well. Klitschko was able to use his reach to pick and peck his way to a clear and very credible points win, while Haye was unable nor seeminly willing to shake up the contest with the exception of a rather fizzy 12th round where Klitschko appeared to be a little rattled by a booming shot that managed to connect.
Klitschko jabbed and jabbed - and let's give him the respect he deserved for he was pretty much meticulous on the night. Haye swiped at thin air too many times and seemed to focus all his energy on a huge overhand right haymaker (or Hayemaker) that never materialised.
It seems that Wladimir Klitschko and in the shorter term, his older brother Vitali, who own all the world title belts at heavyweight, can sweep away the opposition for some time to come. There are no genuine threats to these jabbing giants - only complacency.
Note - This blog has gathered a bit of dust during the past few weeks. There's a reason for that - I've been absent proudly getting married and enjoying a nice honeymoon with my wonderful wife. I've now returned to reality though so please do keep perusing my site!
In being comprehensively outboxed by Wladimir Klitschko, it's fair to say that David Haye did know what had hit him.
A jab. Repeatedly thrust into his face, preventing him and psychologically deterring him from roaring forward and smashing Klitschko's supposedly brittle chin.
The heavyweight contest - which was for the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts - was a pretty dull affair but surely that suited the methodical Klitschko. He was able to dictatate the pace and keep Haye on the back foot with his ramrod jab. Basically, he had little need to consider a wider variety of single shots and combinations that might leave himself exposed.
Haye, meanwhile, complained of a broken toe hampering his movement. The post-fight photographs showed this to be genuine yet it was surely a minor irrelevence. The biggest problem for the brash Brit was the size difference. Haye had just about managed to squeeze past the ambling, ungainly Nikolai Valuev, who was 7ft-plus, using superior boxing skills and good footwork but against the 6ft 7in Klitschko it was a bridge too far for the former cruiserweight champion.
On the night, despite the hype and anticipation, Klitschko and Haye did not blend well. Klitschko was able to use his reach to pick and peck his way to a clear and very credible points win, while Haye was unable nor seeminly willing to shake up the contest with the exception of a rather fizzy 12th round where Klitschko appeared to be a little rattled by a booming shot that managed to connect.
Klitschko jabbed and jabbed - and let's give him the respect he deserved for he was pretty much meticulous on the night. Haye swiped at thin air too many times and seemed to focus all his energy on a huge overhand right haymaker (or Hayemaker) that never materialised.
It seems that Wladimir Klitschko and in the shorter term, his older brother Vitali, who own all the world title belts at heavyweight, can sweep away the opposition for some time to come. There are no genuine threats to these jabbing giants - only complacency.
Note - This blog has gathered a bit of dust during the past few weeks. There's a reason for that - I've been absent proudly getting married and enjoying a nice honeymoon with my wonderful wife. I've now returned to reality though so please do keep perusing my site!
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