BOXING WBA HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT:IF DAVID Haye follows his gambling instincts tonight and unleashes something dangerous but special on Nikolai Valuev, the real prize will be much greater than a quarter slice of a world title.
A spectacular knock-out of the biggest man in the history of the championship would make Haye the most marketable heavyweight in boxing since Mike Tyson.
“No one’s ever done to Valuev what I’m going to do to him,” Haye said last night, in a statement of intent that sounded similar to that of his hero, Muhammad Ali, before he “shook up the world” against Sonny Liston in Miami 45 years ago.
How far the game has fallen since then. In an era and division depressingly lacking in box-office excitement, Haye is ideally placed, and has the tools to make an impact that will resonate far beyond the woods of Bavaria.
He has angered and confused the sensitive wing of the fight game with his provocative sub-Ali trash-talking to promote what would have otherwise been a non-event – and he knows his charm and fighting style are what boxing badly needs.
When he won the world cruiserweight title by getting off the floor to knock out Jean-Marc Mormeck in Paris nearly two years ago, then demolished Enzo Maccarinelli in two rounds in Greenwich, it presaged a move to the big battalions, so weight-drained had he become.
Among interested ringsiders in Paris was Don King’s stepson, Carl. “This kid is the future of heavyweight boxing,” he said, “for four reasons: he’s good-looking, he’s chinny, he knocks people out and he’s not Russian.”
America, still the sport’s hub but challenged lately by Europe, especially Germany, is crying out for someone to break the old eastern bloc hegemony of the heavyweight division.
The Americans have none of their own; they could soon adopt a former male model from Bermondsey, much as they took to Naseem Hamed and Ricky Hatton.
The elder King, who is part of this promotion, arrived in Nuremberg with his typical flourish yesterday and immediately lifted energy levels. He stood taller and louder among some very tall individuals at the weigh-in, where Haye came in at 15st 8lb, exactly seven stones lighter than the champion, and both fighters left the stage with hardly a glance for each other.
Asked if Haye could become the new Hatton if he knocked out Valuev, King, who has a management share of the champion, said: “Boxing needs a spark, and David Haye would be a great spark, but when I take Valuev back to America and I get it together, he’s going to be a giant spark. He has the size, the capability. Nikolai Valuev will knock David Haye out. After we win, he can kiss the babies and kiss the ladies.”
However, if Haye does what he has been dreaming about for weeks, it is not inconceivable we will see King step over the fallen form of Valuev to embrace the winner – as he famously did the night in Kingston, Jamaica, 36 years ago when George Foreman knocked out his man Joe Frazier - with promises of enormous riches.
Haye can win. And, with all due respect to a dignified champion, boxing should be grateful.
