From the opening bell, David Haye fought like a focused and professional surgeon. He systematically picked apart Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora and chopped him down in five spirited rounds.
Chisora never seemed to be in the fight. He chased Haye around the ring like a lost puppy. This chasing did not amount to a walking down of Haye. Instead, Chisora played right into Haye’s strategy and simply absorbed combination after combination. Mentally, Chisora did not seem to be “there” and was strangely reticent to throw any meaningful punches.
Haye, on the other hand, looked as good as ever has. He had been out of the ring for over a year and showed no sign of any ring rust. This was, without question, his best performance as a heavyweight. His punches were crisp, short and accurate. He didn’t loop his blows like he had in the past, instead throwing razor sharp combinations that eventually chopped Chisora down like a tree.
There have been fights in history where the boxers will exchange styles and perform opposite of what was expected. Sugar Ray Leonard was a boxer with ghost like defensive moves while Thomas Hearns was a stalking assassin prior to their 1981 showdown. But when they fought, Sugar Ray Leonard became the bull to Hearns' matador, a role reversal few had anticipated. This exchange of identities here is similar but only in terms of mindset and mental focus. It was David Haye who fought with grim determination and stubbornly refused to give Chisora any quarter, channeling a focused resolve we had not seen in him. Chisora, previously shown to be a stubborn and determined sort, was quite the opposite here. He looked tentative and unsure of himself as Haye did against Wladimir Klitschko a year earlier.
A great win for Haye and we have to once again place him directly behind the Klitschko brothers in the heavyweight rankings. If Chisora won, Wladimir Klitschko had him in his crosshairs and frankly he may still be the younger brother’s target given Klitscko’s inclination to fight the softest touch available.
Haye has redeemed himself and a fight with Vitali Klitschko is certainly more viable now than it was a year ago. A rematch with Wladimir would can become more viable if Haye can, in fact, defeat the older brother. Granted, Chisora is a completely different animal skill wise than Vitali. Youth, ironically, is still on the side of Haye. His speed and underrated physical strength could present problems for the older Klitschko brother.
