Haye-Klitschko aftermath

The reaction to the Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye fight in the British press has been predictably negative. There are very few specialist boxing journalists employed by the daily papers these days so in the majority of cases it was the football correspondent sent to report from Hamburg, leading to the usual standard of sporting journalism in this country; everything is either incredible & amazing or it's terrible & the end of the world. It's exactly the same when England enter a World Cup or a British player competes at Wimbledon, beforehand they're world beaters on the verge of history and then after they lose they are walking disasters, they should be ashamed of themselves, all sport in this country is in crisis.... the press don't believe in a middle ground, they are incapable of putting things into perspective. There is also the strange tendency for the journalist to act as though the failure of someone from this country at sport is a personal insult against them; the comments that Haye let everyone down because he didn't live up to his pre fight boasts are nonsensical. The mundane fact is that he tried to live up to them and simply wasn't allowed to by his opponent. One suggestion that he didn't have the heart for it was particularly insulting; Haye wasn't able to get inside the Klitschko jab to throw any meaningful punches but he continued to try for the full twelve rounds. I also take issue with anyone questioning the heart of any boxer from the safety of a keyboard...

The issue with the injury to his toe was unfortunate; Haye did sound like he was making excuses and it has also overshadowed the number of times that he has also admitted the better man won & his respect for Klitschko. Although it could be argued that you may not get the most balanced interview when ten minutes after a fight you stick a microphone in front of someone who is hurt and frustrated. What is also unfortunate is that the injury happened, as despite the mockery from ignorant quarters, it is a serious injury for a boxer that will affect their ability to perform; Frank Warren, Frank Bruno and others have been quoted criticising Haye for not pulling out of the fight

The fight should hopefully see Klitschko finally get a bit more respect; he put in a near faultless performance. While the brothers will never be the most exciting fighters in the world, they remain incredibly effective. They are always in perfect condition (a lesson other heavyweights seem incapable of learning), they follow their gameplan & they make the most of their physical advantages.

What happens next for both men is questionable. Haye is making noises about possibly not retiring in October & maybe looking for a rematch, while its hard to see anything out there for Klitschko. There are no viable contenders; the fact that a potential fight against the winner of the Chisora-Fury meeting has even been mentioned shows how desperate the situation is. The market for Wladimir facing a 14 fight novice is not going to have the tv companies reaching for their wallets.

Have found myself getting increasingly irritated with Klitschko continuing to maintain he was terribly offended with Hayes antics before the fight. For a start I don't believe he is so thin skinned & he's been in boxing for long enough to know how the game is played. He made an approximate £10 million from the weekend, that purse won't be there next time & neither will the worlds media, it all resulted from Haye's behaviour. The two biggest fights from a British point of view this year have been this & the earlier Groves-DeGale meeting, in both cases owing to the bad blood & insults that preceded them. There have been plenty of other excellent fights with respectful opponents; boxing fans were watching but the general public wasn't, so however distasteful the hype can appear, the problem is with society in general and not the sport