The nation took David Haye to its heart after his win over Nikolay Valuev a week later Oscar De La Hoya claimed that the rest of the world is waiting to follow.
“What Manny Pacquiao brings to the Philippines, what [Julio C?sar] Ch?vez brought to Mexico, David Haye can do for England,” said De La Hoya, whose firm Golden Boy represents Haye. “He can really create global excitement. A heavyweight champion who has charisma, who is good looking but ultimately can fight.
“He creates excitement. He can get boxing back to where it was with Sugar Ray Leonard. He can bring the masses over here or to Madison Square Garden, just like Ricky Hatton has done, just like Frank Bruno did. David Haye can surpass that because he is the heavyweight champion of the world and that means a lot.”
It has been one big rollercoaster for Haye since he stepped off a budget flight back from Germany and into the public consciousness. At the weekend he was in Las Vegas at the guest of Golden Boy to watch Manny Pacquiao’s win over Miguel Cotto. The evening after the bout he was in a nightclub with Floyd Mayweather Jr, who many hope will next face the Filipino.
“I was not expecting a tenth of the attention I have got,” Haye said. “It used to be just boxing fans that knew me, now it’s everyone. I didn’t think at any stage it would get like this. Even when I’ve got a baseball cap pulled down and a scarf, I get noticed. I’m getting a bit of what Oscar’s had for his entire career. I’ve never had old women ask me for my autograph before.
“My win captured the public’s imagination. People who didn’t know anything about boxing saw the image of him (Valuev) and me next to each other and didn’t understand that that was fair, but wanted to see what happened because the little guy was saying he was going to smash the big guy. It intrigued everybody.” The new champion does not fear that his performance on the retreat against Valuev would have turned Americans off.
“I had to do what I had to do to win that particular fight,” Haye said. “He was difficult to look good against. My feet and reflexes were a lot faster and I wasn’t ready to give that advantage up. If I was to hold my feet and exchange with him, he would have had a field day. In the whole 12 rounds we had two clinches.”
Haye must next face John Ruiz, a former two-time champion from the US, a bout that is likely to take place in London. His broken right hand is in a cast at present, but he has not needed an operation and he expects to be back in the ring in March or April.
A rematch with Valuev, whose promoters Sauerland have three options on Haye, could possibly follow before a possible unification match against either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko. “It could be Valuev, but he would have to get himself in a position to get a rematch,” Haye said.
De La Hoya believes that Haye must box in Las Vegas at least once before a match with either Klitschko should be contemplated.
“When David is going to fight anybody it is going to be an event, so we have to establish him in Las Vegas,” De La Hoya said. “Fight Cris Arreola or one of the top guys and get the American public to know him better, then ultimately fight the Klitschkos.
“A Klitschko fight in Vegas is a global event. If you want to make a global event, a mega, mega fight, you have to build it. David Haye is not going anywhere, he is going to be champion for a long, long time. We don’t want to make it too soon, or wait to long. Maybe early 2011 or late 2010, depending how active David wants to be. If you build it they will come – just like Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams.”
Maybe Las Vegas could be Haye’s city one day. “It’s one thing coming here as cruiserweight champion, but heavyweight champion has a better ring to it,” Haye said. He plans to go back.
