British Scene: David Haye vs Audley Harrison Preview

Dave Oakes previews Saturday's Heavyweight clash between David Haye and Audley Harrison.

If world titles were won by talking a good game, Audley Harrison would be ranked as one of the greatest fighters of all time, unfortunately for Audley that isn’t the case. It’s fair to say that Harrison has failed to deliver on the promises he’s made throughout his thirty-one fight career and has created a legacy of failure and embarrassment rather than achievement.

This Saturday presents him with the chance of proving that some of his comments were based on substance rather than just being irrational bluster caused by his inflated sense of self. He challenges David Haye, no shrinking violet himself, at the M.E.N Arena for the W.B.A heavyweight title.

The build-up to this fight has been one of the most tedious and repetitive ear-molesting experiences I’ve ever been subjected to. I’ve never been a fan of smack talk - I’m old fashioned, I prefer boxers to be respectful prior to the fight, knock seven shades out of each other during the fight and then shake hands afterwards.

I know fighters have bad mouthed each other pretty much since the first professional fight took place, but with the enormous number of media outlets in use these days it’s hard to stay away from the delusional rantings of Harrison and the cocky jibes of Haye. To be fair to Haye, at least he’s achieved things in his career that he can be boastful about, unlike Harrison, whose only recognisable pro title was the European title he won via lucky come from behind knockout of Michael Sprott.

Whilst Harrison deserves a modicum of praise for turning the Sprott fight around, it mustn’t be forgotten that he’d lost the majority of the rounds up to that point and had fought negatively throughout. It’s slightly depressing that he’s managed to get a world title shot off the back of such a lacklustre performance against the ageing Sprott.

I understand why the fight has been made; it makes sense commercially for Sky and it is low-risk, high-reward for Haye. That doesn’t make it more palatable for the genuine fans though, who must be wondering why they have to pay the £15 PPV fee for such a one-sided match-up.

And I genuinely believe this is a one-sided fight. It’s true that Harrison has got the power to knockout Haye but the main question is whether he’s got the balls to throw a punch capable of doing the damage. Harrison has been promising to bully Haye and has said that he wouldn’t be surprised if he stopped Haye inside two rounds. Like a lot of things Harrison has said, I’ll believe it when it happens.

Harrison has never started a fight aggressively, the only time he’s aggressive is when he wobbles an opponent at range and then gains the confidence to follow up and try to finish the job. He usually sits back and tries to keep a high held guard, if an opponent gets close he looks to smother them rather than fighting with them. If he tries being aggressive against Haye, which I doubt he will, I can see him walking onto a big shot that will send him crashing.

Harrison may have only lost once by knockout during his career but he fights like a man who has no confidence in his chin. The way he backs away from punches with a ‘rabbit in the headlights’ look on his face speaks volumes - deep down he isn’t a fighter, he hasn’t got that passion, determination and hunger in his make up. I feel that frailty will be his undoing on Saturday; Haye is a tremendous puncher, a vicious finisher and he’ll be constantly looking to exploit Harrison’s weaknesses.

Haye has stopped twenty-two of the twenty-five opponents he’s faced, with thirteen of those being taken out inside two rounds. There’s no doubt in my mind that if he lands clean on Harrison the fight will be as good as over, John Ruiz was known for his toughness and solid chin but even he was put down inside the opening minute.

It’s well known that Haye hasn’t got the best of chins either, he’s been dropped and stopped as both a pro and an amateur, but, unlike Harrison, he’s still prepared to take calculated risks. The big difference between the pair being the confidence they have in their own ability, Haye knows he’s got good skills and speed to go with his power and is willing to back his skills over his opponents.

Haye has also shown versatility, he’s boxed cautiously against Valuev, patiently against Enzo Maccarinelli and aggressively against numerous opponents. Mentally he’s in a different league to Harrison - Haye likes to fight, he likes to knock people out and he’s prepared to walk through walls to do so, which he’s shown on the occasions he’s been dropped.

The outcome of this fight will depend on what tactics Harrison uses. If he comes out all guns blazing then I can see the quicker Haye catching him coming in and stopping him inside a couple of rounds. If he boxes as negatively as I expect him to, and past history suggests he will, then I can see the fight being untidy and boring to watch and will last as long as it takes for either fighter to land the knockout blow.

Like I’ve said previously, I very much doubt Harrison has the courage to go looking for Haye. He’ll be content to stay on the back foot and will be looking to counter Haye with his big left hook, the trouble being that I don’t believe Harrison is quick enough or brave enough to capitalize on any chance he gets to land the left, which will leave him a sitting target for Haye.

Whether the fight goes two rounds or six, I can’t see any other outcome than a Haye win by knockout. I just hope the fight lasts a few rounds, a thirty second blow-out wouldn’t be good for boxing.

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