In the end, it was wholly predictable if depressingly so. Dr Steelhammer jabbed and prodded his way to a deserved points victory over a pitifully below par David Haye. Klitschko’s style may not be especially pretty but it’s certainly effective and this was probably his best performance to date - although as a spectacle it was fairly horrible. The tension at the beginning of the fight – would Haye get inside to land big on the Ukranian’s chin? – soon gave way to round after round of monotony. A pattern was established quickly with Klitschko working well behind his ramrod jab, leaving an increasingly flustered Haye swinging wildly at thin air and more often than not, falling over in the process. Every time Haye wound-up one of his patented ‘Hayemakers’ the Ukrainian took a step back and shoved the smaller man to the canvas. It was pitiful to watch. But Haye’s problems didn’t begin and end with the size difference or even Klitschko’s slightly dubious tactics. His timing was well off and he appeared to lose his balance almost every time he threw a punch. After the fight, he tried to blame this on a broken toe, and while painful, I’d have been more inclined to believe him if it had been a big toe he’d broken, not the little one. And it hardly befits a heavyweight champion of the world to moan about a little toe given some of the punishment his illustrious predecessors have had to endure on the way to the title. So where does all this leave Haye and the heavyweight division in general? Klitschko has certainly done his reputation no harm, in addition to picking up the WBA belt to add his collection. While few people would call him an exciting champion, there’s no denying his skill as a ring tactician. That is what I believe he is and his 56 victories are a testament to that, but he is not in my opinion a great fighter in the sense that I don’t think he enjoys a scrap in the way the best boxers over the years have. As for Haye, if he keeps to his word and retires in October, he probably only has one fight left to rescue his legacy. That fight is a must-win against a top-name opponent, maybe even Vitali Klitschko. Anything less, particularly another underwhelming domestic clash against someone like Derek Chisora, won’t be enough to take away the bitter taste left by this contest.
