So Britain has a new heavyweight champion of the world: David Haye. In what was by no means a classic encounter, he succeeded in outpointing the defending WBA champion, Nikolai Valuev, on Saturday night. But despite what some commentators are saying, it was never a sure thing and I could see the uncertainty written all over Haye's face as he waited for the judges' verdict. The Sky Sports commentary team certainly doubted whether Haye had done enough, especially given the fact that Valuev has been the beneficiary of some dubious decisions in the past, particularly fighting on what was in essence home turf.
But as someone said in the aftermath of the fight, if you only land two or three punches a round and your opponent lands none at all, you still win. That was pretty much the way it went for the majority of the fight, with the notable exception of the final round. Valuev may as well have been shadow boxing and Haye got in a few punches in the early rounds which would surely have floored a smaller man.
But it turns out that the single biggest factor affecting the quality of the fight was not revealed until after it finished. Haye says he broke his hand early on. That would certainly explain why he held back on those famous Hayemakers until the twelfth round. It also makes his achievement all the more remarkable and reminds me of Joe Calzaghe's victory over Evans Ashira in 2005 when he took a points decision despite fighting with a broken left (leading) hand from the third round onwards.
Haye's victory is all very exciting, particularly the prospect of a first title defence in London next year against former champ John Ruiz. Ruiz is a tailor-made opponent for Haye and should give him the chance to show more of his skills and impress the all-important US audience. Then it's the brothers Klitschko.
Exciting stuff, but a word of caution from the always excellent Gareth Davies.
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