British fighter's reliance on wild swings and instinct were not enough to end 'Dr Steelhammer's' world domination
In the world of the top-class heavyweight David Haye looked a small man with unrealistically big ambitions. The old laws of power, size, reach and bulk exposed him as a promoted cruiserweight whose twitchy counterattacking style was no match for the lesser of the Klitschko brothers.
He came, he provoked, he lost unanimously on points to an immensely experienced opponent who used his ram-rod jab and following right with increasing force from the middle rounds as Haye was reduced to ineffective cobra strikes that knocked him off balance and sent him slipping to the canvas, where he spent a large proportion of this contest.
As the inquests opened Haye claimed to have broken a toe on his right foot three weeks ago. The pain had been so great, he claimed, he almost pulled out of the contest. A bit late now. An injury of that serious nature would have scuppered most world title fights so Haye now needs to explain why he risked his reputation anyway.
Unable to cope with Wladimir's strength and efficiency, Haye would have even less chance against the winner's brother, Vitali, who gave Lennox Lewis so much trouble in Los Angeles. These extraordinary businessmen-fighters now own all the major world heavyweight belts. One family has unified the division. Only radically altered tactics would permit Haye any hope of reversing this outcome in a rematch.
The judges scored it 117-109, 118?108 and 116-110, despite Klitschko being docked a point for repeatedly pulling down Haye. Britain's champion developed a taste for slipping and was soon falling over with minimal help from the man he mocked throughout the buildup. Even this was badly conceived. Genaro Rodriguez, the referee whose appointment was opposed by the Haye camp, admonished him for his theatricality and ordered him to get on with it.
Haye had contrived such a belligerent demeanour that his fall was bound to hurt more than the average defeat. Americans will say he was tactically naive, an impostor in the land of the giants. He was fortunate Klitschko is not consistently assertive with a jab that would cause much more damage from a less cautious fighter.
By the end, as he launched wild swipes, the conviction had drained from Haye's eyes. He was as much in danger of being floored himself as ending up as the new Lewis with only Vitali standing between the "Hayemaker" and world domination.
All the pumping up of Haye was based on supposition, instinct. There was little in his record to suggest he could leap from cruiserweight to leading heavyweight in less than half a dozen fights. John Ruiz was an immobile relic and Nikolai Valuev a cartoon character ? the beast from the east. Audley Harrison's pro career had long since become a travesty.
Yet Haye beat them all, and the hope was that his energy and speed would carry him all the way to the summit.
The heads of the Klitschko brothers are still on their shoulders. There will be no decapitations. In a trade shorn of genuine class Haye could still make a decent living, but he will never bring so much braggadocio to the table again.
Swarms of British travellers trudged through the rain to the venue, drenched and shivering, and sustained by plastic pots of beer. Most dressed like holidaymakers to the Balearics and paid the price as downpours swept the city while temperatures fell to autumn levels. To dole out fortunes for flights, hotels and tickets and then risk hypothermia required considerable stoicism from Haye's estimated 10,000 followers, who faced an equally unpleasant journey back to their billets when the punching stopped.
With George Foreman, Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in attendance, the old guard seemed to be conferring their seal on a bout boxing knew it needed to head off accusations of terminal decline. This was only Haye's fifth heavyweight contest ? and Wladimir Klitschko is the second-best fighter in his family ? yet the buildup succeeded in its aim of ramming this event under the world's nose in the hope that it would buy.
Mind games, a feature of the long preamble, were a factor right up to the opening bell, with Haye ignoring the buffed-up Michael Buffer's introduction to stay in his dressing room for an extra 10 minutes. The idea was to make a minor declaration of ownership to Klitschko on his own adopted German soil. On a chilly night Haye was not about to stand in the ring burning energy while "Dr Steelhammer" stole the pre-fight show.
The British contingent maintained a constant belligerent din. Haye inspires in them a raw excitement missing when Lewis or Frank Bruno were carrying their hopes. Lewis was a technician, explosive only in bursts, and his fans adapted to that laid-back mode. With Haye they felt an ancient British aggression at work and liked it more.
Klitschko retaliated by postponing his own arrival. As a section of the crowd surged towards his entourage a man in an England shirt was thrown to the ground by security. By now Haye wore a beanie hat and was wrapped in foil, like the victim of an accident. But a contest that took two and a half years to arrange was about to assume violent shape at last and when the first bell tolled the heavyweight division recovered its old centrality in world sport.
In the earliest exchanges Haye seemed to understand the importance of standing beyond the range of Klitschko's left jab, and darted underneath his assailant's arms to land flurries. But soon the victor was computing the distances correctly and prodding Haye's head with his left glove. A cut under Klitschko's left eye offered brief hope but at no point was the winner seriously perturbed.
Haye's story later about an injured foot attracted little sympathy. It was common knowledge he had stopped sparring three weeks ago, but gave no explanation, concealing the truth and continuing to assert he would cut Klitschko down. It was a big promise from a man who lacked the size to back it up.
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