20.07.06 – European Cruiserweight Champion David Haye is the most exciting fighter in Britain today and is on a mission to bring the glory days on the early to mid 1990’s back to British boxing. Over the last three and a half years, Haye, 16-1 (16), has been slowly building his career after blazing a trail of glory through the amateur ranks amid great fanfare.
On this coming Friday, July 21, the London based slugger will look to pull off an explosive performance when he puts his European crown at risk against iron chinned Belgian Ismail Abdoul in the British capital of boxing, Manchester.
Haye’s colorful promoter, Frank Maloney, is fully confident of his European Champion’s abilities and looks forward to the larger opportunities which lie ahead. “As the new WBC #1 ranked cruiserweight to champion O’Neil Bell, David knows the boxing world will be watching the outcome of this crucial bout with great interest,” said Maloney..
Should Haye get past Abdoul as expected, a contest with Bell will undoubtedly carry the type of crossover appeal that draws interest well beyond the normal parameters of a boxing match. Although he hasn’t had the publicity and showcasing that Haye has enjoyed, Bell is the undisputed cruiserweight champion and that coupled with the popularity of “The Hayemaker”, ensures a mega-fight when the two lock horns.
Haye has dreamt of such a day ever since he was a young man and knows that his opportunity against Bell is likely fast approaching. But the 25 year old Briton is also aware that he can’t afford a slip-up on Friday in Manchester against his unranked challenger, Ismail Abdoul.
The much more experienced Abdoul, 27-9-1 (10), has previously stepped in at the last minute to take another top level British cruiserweight, Enzo Macarrinelli, the distance in a losing cause and has tangled with current WBC Light Heavyweight Champion Tomasz Adamek and former European Cruiserweight titlist Vincenzo Cantatore.
Maloney is aware of the manner in which Abdoul has taken many of his previous big fight opportunities and considers this bout against Haye to be a different proposition altogether. “Abdoul has had over two and a half months of notice and preparation, so one thing is for sure, he will know every move and trick of Haye if he has done his job properly,” said Maloney.
Only stopped once during a ten year, thirty seven fight career, Abdoul is expected to rely on his considerable chin to allow him to take the champion into the latter stages of their twelve round championship bout. Such is the punching power of Haye that he has never gone past eight rounds during his professional career but this has also led critics to accuse the knockout artist of lacking the stamina necessary to engage in a draining championship level bout.
The outspoken Maloney brushes off such assertions; “When Haye fights, he goes into the ring to excite the crowd; he is Mr. Excitement,” said the promoter. “It doesn’t matter if the fight goes one round or twelve, when you’ve seen David Haye, you know you’ve been to a real boxing show because he tries to take his man out with every shot. Right or wrong, that’s how he fights and that’s what makes him so popular with the British public.”
Throwing the full weight of his promotional muscle behind Haye, Maloney is counting on the powerfully built “Hayemaker” to not only win the WBC Cruiserweight crown from O’Neil Bell but to also raise British boxing back to heights not experienced since the high water mark of the 1990’s.
“I like that David is unpredictable; you never know what sort of fight he’s going to be in and you never know when it’s going to end,” said Maloney. “You are guaranteed excitement in the ring and outside of it, too, because Haye brings the beautiful crowd back to boxing. We haven’t seen the sort of people that sit at ringside since the days of Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank and Lennox Lewis. Haye has opened up boxing and brought in a new audience.
“Boxing is all about excitement and entertainment and Haye delivers that when he gets in the ring. Even after his lone defeat in a thrilling slugfest with IBO Champion Carl Thompson two years ago, people were talking about Haye, not as a loser, but as the kind of fighter that they just love to see. David might hold his chin out there but you’ve got to hit it first before Haye hits you, because if he can do that, it’s lights out. Regardless of the outcome, you can be assured that when the fight is made between David Haye and O’Neil Bell and everything is on the line, the real winners will be the armchair fight fans across the world.”
The David Haye vs. Ismail Abdoul European Cruiserweight Championship bill takes place at the Altrincham Leisure Centre in Manchester, England on Friday, July 21. Also scheduled to appear are British Light Middleweight Champion Jamie Moore and a full lineup of talented prospects. Tickets are available online at www.maloneypromotions.com or via the Box Office on 0871 226 1508. Sky Sports will televise live on SS1 starting at 22:00.