David Haye and Tony Bellew will settle things tonight.
I’ve decided with this breakdown to fold the stories of these fighters into one.
Firstly, there is no love lost between the combatants.
Further, all four men talked their way into the fights.
Lastly, one of each in the pairs are coming off long layoffs and getting back in the ring against champions.
Combat sports is exciting enough, it is the most elemental of all competition in the human experience, so a fight, any fight, in a school yard or a ring is going to be compelling and how much more so when the protagonists are highly skilled and have legitimate heat between them!
Haye vs. Bellew
On a certain level, David “The Haymaker” Haye vs. Tony “The Blue Bomber” Bellew should not be happening.
It seems a bit ridiculous on its face; Tony Bellew, the WBC Cruiserweight champion is moving up to Heavyweight for the first time against a semi-retired former Heavyweight champion. It’s not a title contest, it’s not for any meaningful ranking. So why then you might ask is it happening at all?
Well, the money of course!
To be cynical for a moment let’s examine some facts: Tony Bellew is 34 years old, he’d finally won a major world title in boxing when he blasted the hard-punching Congolese southpaw Ilunga Makabu in three rounds barely ten months ago, last May.
Bellew went on five months later to put a beating on BJ Flores, winning with another third-round stoppage. Flores was down three times in the 2nd round and was counted out in the third following a short right hand during a brief exchange while both men stood in the center of the ring.
The partisan Liverpool crowd erupted for Tony Bellew!
The real show it seemed began after the fight as Tony Bellew leaped out of the ring to mug and jaw at David Haye who was ringside to commentate on the fight. Bellew then got on the mic and brought the house down at the Echo Arena taunting and trash talking Haye saying among other things that he would “Beat him (Haye) and the pathetic haircut” For his part, Haye remained composed and never moved an inch or even seemed to react to Bellew’s antagonism. Haye coldly responded that he (Haye) would “probably knock him out with a jab.” Promotional wiz kid Eddie Hearn, owner of Matchroom boxing knew when to take advantage of a situation and jumped in the ring as well to further stoke the crowd and being men of their word the deal to set up David Haye vs. Tony Bellew was done within the week!
Whatever composure Haye displayed during Bellew’s in ring histrionics that October evening in Liverpool was abandoned soon after as a series of pressers and media conference calls wore away at David Haye who does have, it should be pointed out a short fuse in the build up to fights. Haye helped manufacture a grudge match between himself and one of boxing’s biggest heavyweight heels of all time Derek Chisora back in July 2012. The two men famously caused a near riot fighting in the hotel lobby after the post-fight press conference following Chisora’s unanimous decision loss to Vitali Klitschko in February of that year.
Should be no surprise then a month later in November 2016 at the first public press conference Haye and Bellew engaged in a heated staredown that ended with Haye again throwing the first punch. Bellew for his part has not let up on his verbal assault before or since saying for example “When he threw the punch at the press conference it stopped being about business anymore. It was purely personal…He shouldn’t have thrown the punch at the press conference…It was a disgusting move to make, and the things he’s gone on saying since – like he’s going to leave me in hospital, or I’m not going home to see my kids after the fight – it’s very distasteful and disgusting.
However, sticks and stones may break our bones but 10-ounce gloves will cave your face in!
The Breakdown
Tony Bellew has always argued that he and David Haye are essentially identical in terms of dimensions, both men do stand at 6’3” but physically that’s where the similarities end. Haye is a physical specimen with quick hands for a heavyweight and abhorrent power! He also has a four-inch reach advantage. Bellew is measured at 74” Haye’s reach is 78” not an insignificant advantage when you consider how quickly and ferociously Haye likes to close the distance behind his jab to viscously finish his opponents.
Haye made his bones at cruiserweight. He debuted in December 2002 and for 6 years terrorized the division becoming unified cruiserweight champ, the first to do so since Evander Holyfield with a brutal flurry of punches stopping Enzo Maccarinelli March 8th, 2008 at the O2 Arena in London. Haye finished his Cruiserweight division dominance with a record of 22 wins and 21 vicious knockouts.
Haye ultimately moved up to heavyweight and his power followed him. He recorded stoppage wins in six out of eight bouts, however, some have been critical of those wins and most vocally and notably Bellew himself. The Bomber counters that Haye is not a real heavyweight, Haye did stop Johnny Ruiz in April of 2010, but Ruiz was memorably smacked around by Roy Jones Jr., a light heavyweight. And when Haye challenged the massive, powerful Wladimir Klitschko-Haye was found wanting in every meaningful area, he did not engage much and Wlad sat him down in the 11th round.
For his part, Bellew is as workmanlike a boxer as the blue collar city of Liverpool England he calls home. Bellew comes to the ring festooned in blue like his beloved Everton Football club to the roar of a usually partisan local crowd. Bellew simply does nothing particularly well but is known in and around the English boxing scene as a hard worker. He absolutely lives for his wife (his high school sweetheart) and three boys and says openly were it not for them he wouldn’t box any longer.
The biggest improvement Bellew made has been in preparation, he brought in respected trainer David Coldwell who was an outlier in David Haye’s camp at one point some years back. Coldwell cleaned up the punching technique and defense (if slightly) of the Liverpudlian. Nevertheless, Bellew has been down against punchers at 175 pounds, most notably being stopped by Adonis Stevenson in the 6th round in November 2013. Bellew also split a pair of fights with Nathan Cleverly, winning and losing a decision and had a draw against Isaac Chilemba before beating the South African by decision in the rematch.
With that said once Bellew moved to cruiserweight, his KO percentage grew, finishing six of eight opponents at 200 pounds. Bellew also began his career in the amateurs at the Rotunda ABC as a heavyweight and won three consecutive amateur titles from 2004-2006. Bellew has also seen success in the world of kickboxing, with an amateur record of 40-7 (32 KOs).
The point is at the elite level of world championship boxing Haye is simply several levels above Bellew in ring IQ and ability. Bellew could box perfectly and the power of Haye will still change the fight if he lands just one punch. Bellew does acknowledge this and says “I have been knocked down, but I keep getting back up.” Unfortunately, haye has true crushing power and has carried that power with him up several weight classes, Haye is a heavyweight, albeit an undersized one compared to the Klitschkos, Furys, Wilders and Joshuas but he is a REAL one. For example, does anyone really believe Bellew could survive the power of WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksander Usyk? A cruiserweight with crushing power and the movement and hand speed of Vasyl Lomachenko…Anyone.
Bellew has endeared himself to the public and made a calculated move to talk himself into this fight and therein lies the main point of my thesis originally—this is a Money Fight and other than the physical risk that comes with boxing anyway there is little to lose for either man in terms of career momentum. Both men are in the twilight of their career, one is trying to make one last run angling for a few more big fights proving he’s a legit box office draw and the other has boxing in the rearview mirror and looking to set up his family for the long term.
The outcome ought to be academic; Haye will likely stalk Bellew and want to force him into the ropes or a corner where Haye gets most his finishes, he may jab aggressively to close distance before unloading his usual barrage. Typically, a ruthless finisher, once he forces Bellew to cover his assault, will be too much to bear forcing a stoppage late in the first or early in the second round.
Thurman vs. Garcia
Might as well talk about the elephant in the room first: is Danny “Swift’ Garcia a cherry picker?
The answer really is no. Going back even to the amateurs it could be argued Danny has faced competition at least as good if not better than his opponent, Keith “One Time” Thurman. Conversely, perhaps too much has been made of the “One Time” power of Thurman.
One thing is sure; nothing less than the future of the welterweight division is up for grabs tonight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Moreover, the winner should figure prominently in any revision of current pound for pound rankings.
Allow me to explain…
Many people when talking about the upcoming Welterweight unification bout focus on the press conference and the racially charged tirade by Angel Garcia. This is nothing new by the way since Angel has spewed ignorant sewage from his mouth for years now, once calling champion Terrence “Bud” Crawford ‘a nappy head.’ Angel poured some hot sauce on a fight that already had plenty of spice. Perhaps it was a bit orchestrated, however, Keith Thurman charged into the ring once Danny had finished off overmatched opponent Samuel Vargas last November at the Liacouras Center in Philly to mug and jaw at one another.
Bottom line, one of these men will leave with their first loss and lighter a championship belt after tonight.
What both young men bring is power and an interesting opposition of styles. Danny is considered counter puncher but has a real dog in him and a strong chin, while Thurman is considered the biggest puncher in the division and a slick boxer.
On paper like Bellew and Haye these two men are quite equal in constitution: Both 28 years old, though Danny, amusingly has a 4-month age advantage. Both have a nearly identical reach, just a half inch advantage for Thurman, yet Garcia is measured as one inch taller.
Both men have extensive amateur backgrounds and were domestically quite successful. Thurman was a tow- time USA National bronze medalist and in ’07 was a runner-up in the Olympic trials. Notably, Thurman lost to current prospect Demetrius “Boo Boo” Andrade. Garcia was a gold medalist at the under 19 Nationals and beating Terrence “Bud” Crawford along the way and Danny Garcia was himself a 2007 U.S. Olympic trial runner-up at light welterweight while Keith Thurman has always been at the welterweight limit.
Once again, ironically Thurman and Garcia each made their pro debuts within days of each other. Thurman recorded a TKO in one round close to his birthplace in Clearwater FL at the Al La Carte Event Pavilion in Tampa on November 9th, 2007 and Garcia KO’d his opponent on November 17th at the Borgata Hotel Casino on the boardwalk of Atlantic City NJ that he walked many times as a kid.
Both kids grew up hard as well. Thurman, born to a white mother and black father had a hard time fitting in the south straddling two cultures, neither he felt comfortable identifying with. Thurman still cannot easily fit into a box as a fighter or a man. Garcia lost his father Angel to the streets and prison for a time. Angel was incarcerated for drug dealing for over three years.
Both young men have also been consistently busy throughout their career, at just 28 they have a combined record of 61-0 with 41 knockouts! And though the playing field appears level Garcia is still considered the underdog in this fight as he has been for much of his career.
Garcia first became a world champion nearly five years ago, to the day March 24th, 2012 by defeating Mexican legend Erik “El Terrible” Morales for the vacant WBC Super Lightweight belt by unanimous decision. Morales though past prime after so many wars against Barrera and Pacquiao was still favored against the upstart Garcia. However, the difference in speed and athleticism was immediately apparent. Morales was cagey in the offing with a crisp straight jab but was ‘meat and potatoes’ compared to the younger man’s pop and combinations. The younger boxer’s power carried throughout the fight as well, the onslaught proved too much and with an 11th round knockdown, Danny Garcia announced his arrival on the world stage of boxing.
The second fight with Morales acted as the bookend for Garcia’s biggest win at that juncture against Amir Khan four months later in July 2012 for Khan’s WBA Super Lightweight title. Garcia did not make much of Khan’s speed in the build-up to the fight but was chopped to ribbons in the first 2 rounds. Khan was caught in an exchange during round three by Danny’s famous left hook and after that, the sting in Khan’s punches was gone. Danny walked Khan down and ended it for good in dominating fashion with a TKO stoppage in round four. Barely three months later Garcia would send Erik Morales into retirement for good with a fourth-round stoppage of the legend. Morales was never in the fight from the opening bell and was nearly knocked out of the ring that night at the Barclays Center home of tomorrow night’s action.
Garcia did struggle against Lucas Matthysse, Lamont Petersen, and Mauricio Herrera, with the later bringing Garcia the closest yet to defeat. However, in every case Garcia has found a way to win, an extra gear to shift into outlasting his opponents. It was within the last three years that Garcia has garnered some negative attention for some of his opponents. He’s been called “cherry picker” trying to take easier fights against unranked opponents and “gift Garcia” for decision wins against Matthysse and Herrera, however his body of work does not vary much from the norm for many young prospect/champions in modern boxing, for every Rod Salka and Samuel Vargas on his resume there is a Khan, Judah, Matthysse and Guerrero and Malignaggi.
Thurman is an interesting fella, he’s just as much at home drinking organic fresh brewed tea and driving his Prius to the boxing gym as he is waging war inside the ring. He can wax introspective one-minute exploring man’s compulsion for violence and the links to boxing and the next shouting into the cameras talking trash like Ali and hyping himself for the fight.
Thurman has had a stranglehold on the WBA World Welterweight title for nearly four years and Thurman has proved himself a jealous lover. The relationship goes back to July 27th, 2013 in San Antonio TX at the AT&T Center. Thurman battled Diego Gabriel Chaves over 10 rounds, scoring with a KO victory.
Thurman also ran into trouble back in San Antonio TX at the Alamodome like Garcia did facing big awkward punchers who refused to play their game. Thurman’s nemesis proved to be veteran slugger Jesus Soto Karass. Thurman was doing good work early on, relying on lateral movement and patient boxing. Karass did have a few moments but the tough slugger just would not go down until a looping left hook stunned Soto Karass and a right hook on the ear sent Soto Karass down as referee Jon Schorle stopped Karass’ head from bouncing on the canvas.
Another such opponent was Luis Collazo in November of 2015. Thurman was favored to win this fight either but the tattooed and rugged southpaw had some surprises for Thurman. Thurman’s underrated hand speed allowed him to land in combination early and it was a shut out for the first four rounds. In round five Collazo cornered Thurman, feinted a right jab and went downstairs with a left shovel hook that badly hurt Thurman. Thurman got on his bike and barely survived the round and took the 6th round to recover fully, now the lion came out of Thurman and all but abandoned his boxing technique throwing with ruthless intent. Thurman opened a deep cut over the right eye of Collazo that forced his retirement in round 7. Thurman showed championship heart if a recklessness.
The Breakdown
Garcia has received a somewhat unfair reputation for cherry picking though some fights he took tactically to make his transition to full-fledged welterweight easier. Andre Ward did the same in preparation for Sergey Kovalev and no one called Ward a cherry picker.
It should be noted that in that period Garcia was the busier fighter. Thurman has power and is considered the biggest puncher in the division, however, Garcia has shown power as well and not having to drain himself so much to make 140 pounds it stands to reason that the young man growing into his frame will carry his power up to welterweight if not increase it. And he has that left hook, half the time he throws it staring at the canvas but it has a heat seeker and if Garcia can bring that weapon in close he should be able to hurt Thurman to the body, precisely where he’s shown vulnerability in the Collazo fight and was also hurt to the body against Shawn Porter, his only fight in 2016.
Both men have unrated craft, Thurman is a bit slicker and has a slightly flashier punch than the scrappy kid from Philly. Both men make the job harder than it needs to be in many cases, both men get drawn into shootouts needlessly but this is boxing! Fighters get their blood up and that makes for exciting fights!
Garcia and Thurman have fun styles to watch and breakdown, they have a bit of sumo wrestler in them; they come together in brief savage clashes and play high-speed chess and neither man is afraid to take a punch (even when they don’t have to) to land one. The first 1-3 rounds will likely be cautious though I expect Thurman down early for the first time in his career from the left hook of Garcia, Thurman tends to drop both hands and just swings in close, that plays well into the hands of the counter puncher. We will likely see several shifts in momentum and some close possibly even rounds. Thurman will recover well but will lose a split decision to Garcia.
I cannot forget to mention this fight takes place on CBS on primetime, 9 p.m. EST., boxing is not dead, it’s coming back in a big way and 2017 is shaping up to be one of the best in boxing in many years.
For all the trash talk and controversy Bellew, Haye, Garcia, and Thurman are masters of their craft and masters of war!
Don’t blink. You won’t want to miss any of this!
