Violence. Pizza-face. Decapitation. Knockout number 50. Malfunctioning robots. Ambulances. Glory. In the end, both Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye were successful in what they set out to accomplish… they avoided all of that. Haye, the brash Brit, knew how to do everything except make consistent contact with Klitschko, also known as the kinder, gentler version of Ivan Drago. But was it really all that shocking?
Klitschko’s been a safety first, jab second, safety third type of fighter since last being stopped way back in 2004 by hard-nosed veteran Lamon Brewster. Haye was just as careful in his only other fight against a man much larger than he, Russian giant Nikolay Valuev. Klitschko-Haye followed the profile of that barnburner and just about every other Klitschko fight. Ultimately, one fighter did little, the other fighter did less, and he best man by default won.
The odds for the fight (Dr. Steelhammer a nearly 3-1 favorite) reflected the general consensus: despite his talk, David Haye probably wasn’t going to win this fight. Virtually the entire boxing industry, eager to see Haye humbled, has turned the story into his loss and what he failed to do as opposed to assessing the scrap for what it was and paying respect to the winner, though that may be a good thing for Wlad. Essentially, Klitschko’s been let off the hook for his own performance.
David Haye may be the fastest, maybe even the first, man to have removed his shoe and sock after a bout, but he isn’t the first pug to believe he could win a fight only to come up woefully short. He won’t be the last either; happens all the time, in fact. Plainly, he lost to the superior fighter. The sooner we turn the page on ‘The War’ of nerves, the better for us all.
STAR POWER
Not as catchy a title as the “Rumble in the Jungle”, but nonetheless, boxing’s most polarizing personality, and brightest talent, is back. Floyd Mayweather will challenge upstart WBC Welterweight champion Victor Ortiz this fall in Vegas. The only people happier than boxing fans appeared to be HBO exec Mark Taffet, whose eyes may or may not have welled with tears of joy as he read off the amount of money that “Money” has generated for his company, and Bob Halloran, the director of Sports for the MGM, who made sure to let Ortiz know to thank Mayweather…literally.
Still in the awkward transitional stage, being new to the bright lights and all, Victor Ortiz decided he’d give trash talking a try and, in doing so, proved the art is indeed a skill. Dead set on proving his chops, Ortiz randomly interrupted every speaker at the dais, muttering anything that popped into his head until a stern look from Golden Boy boss Richard Schaefer actually made you cringe for him harder than Arnold Schwarzenegger when his housekeeper and wife were in the same room. Ricardo Mayorga was said to be disappointed by Ortiz’s lack of etiquette.
For his part, a subdued Mayweather seemed to care?about everything BUT Ortiz. The sponsors, HBO, his team, Golden Boy, Manny Pacquiao, legal issues, Genaro Hernandez, and Kelly Swanson all devoted more of his time. Mayweather thanked Ortiz for taking random blood and urine tests, congratulated him on bouncing back from adversity (his loss to Marcos Maidana two years ago) and sat back down.
Could Floyd be overlooking his opponent? Highly unlikely. He’s been here before and almost seemed disinterested with the pre-fight buildup this time around. The task at hand is not an easy one. The southpaw Ortiz has dropped nearly every opponent he’s ever shared a ring with. He’s also a decade younger than Mayweather and riding a wave of confidence after beating up heavy favorite Andre Berto his last time out, but Mayweather knows it and is well aware of what hangs in the balance: another dream vacation! Well, hopefully, after an additional fight or two.
ONE-TWO’S
How about those British boxing fans? 9,000 drunken Brits were able to drown out 50,000 Germans. They died down as the fight grew more repetitive with each passing round, but the energy of UK boxing fans is unrivaled. They also provided the night’s most dramatic encounter when you didn’t know whether or not they’d allow David Haye to reach the ring.
Has anyone caught Vicious Victor Ortiz’s rap video? Check this one out as Ortiz does his best Malibu’s Most Wanted impersonation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtqwgtlCW-U. To paraphrase one user’s sentiments, making a song like this is already terrible; shooting a video is akin to throwing up on a pile of crap. Added incentive however, if Ortiz can defeat Mayweather, maybe he can snag a deal with Philthy Rich Records. Or maybe not.
The incessant blinking, the unusual facial twitch, the forced, almost painful-looking smiles and public statements so guarded that all substance is removed…were Golden Boy President Oscar De La Hoya and Yankee slugger Alex Rodriguez separated at birth?
Is it just me or does former Heavyweight titleholder James Toney remind anyone else of the black Kenny Powers? Think about it.
Heavyweight David Rodriguez recently stated he’d knock both Klitschkos out. Have we not learned anything from ‘The War’?
Finally, boxing is a step closer to a fight two years in the making! Of course, I’m talking about Bernard Hopkins and Chad Dawson. There have been talks to stage Jean Pascal vs. Tavoris Cloud on the same night, in chief support to the main event. As of now, it doesn’t appear that fight will happen. Pascal, coming off a loss and draw with Hopkins in his last two bouts, wants to get back on the winning track- and stopped just short of saying “YOU MUST BE CRAZY!” to the idea of fighting Cloud.
This Saturday, Paul Williams makes his first trip to the squared circle, since Sergio Martinez offed his on-switch eight months ago, to battle talented but inconsistent Cuban Erislandy Lara. Enjoy Williams now, for whether it was always in the cards or brought on by that devastating punch, he’s openly discussed retirement heading into this one. It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, the knockout will have on him going forward.
Has Devon Alexander really lost his last three fights? A good number of boxing people believe he’s been the recipient of two southern-style home cookin’ decision wins over Andriy Kotelnik and, most recently, Lucas Matthysse. The grunts (rivaled only by Lamont Peterson) weren’t enough to convince everyone, but they did wake up Paulie Malignaggi. I can see the promotion now: “Two Men Enter, No One Gets Hurt.”
Follow Brandon on Twitter: @brandonestrict
