by James Slater – Heavyweight contender and former cruiserweight champion David Haye was an interested spectator at the recent Tyson Fury-John McDermott fight, and it appears as though “The Hayemaker” was giving the 6’8″ Fury the once-over as a potential sparring partner. Haye, who will be swapping punches with the biggest world champion in boxing history, in Nikolai Valuev on November 7th, knows he needs to get some quality sparring in with as tall a man as the 7’0″ Russian. A couple of inches shorter, 21-year-old Fury is about as close as it gets. And whilst speaking with Sky Sports, 28-year-old Haye said he’s very keen on the idea of working with the heavily hyped prospect.
“If Tyson Fury is available, then yes,” Haye said of the possibility of sparring with him. “I’m around at the moment and if he’s got a fight coming up I am more than willing to spar with him. He doesn’t have to pay me, that’s for sure!.”
And while Haye would benefit from such sparring by getting himself further prepared for Valuev’s height and reach, the still-learning Fury would surely only gain from sparring with Haye, a former accomplished amateur and world champion. And, as all fans who saw his “winning” fight with John McDermott back on September 11th are aware, Fury sure has a lot to learn..
Moving on from Fury, though, and looking ahead to Haye-Valuev, the challenger’s trainer and manager, Adam Booth, says the WBA champion will not in any way be underestimated. Having said that, Booth also believes the champion’s size will not pose too big a problem for his man
“I don’t necessarily think Valuev’s style is wrong for David,” Booth said to Sky Sports. “He’s always thrived on [fighting] taller and bigger opponents and ever since he was young he has always sparred with people heavier than him. But we’re not underestimating Valuev.
“There’s an easy, obvious statement to make about Valuev that he’s big so he’s slow. But he’s actually not that slow, if you look at the tapes of his left hand. And he’s very effective at going 12 rounds.”
Though Booth is clearly a man who knows what he’s talking about when it comes to boxing, there will likely be a number of people who will disagree with him when he says 36-year-old Valuev is “not that slow.” After all, Valuev sure did a pretty good statue imitation back in December of last year when he was deemed lucky by some to have been given the verdict over a 46-year-old Evander Holyfield.
Haye is sure to be way faster than Valuev on November 7th; but that doesn’t make him a sure winner. Still, it’s good to know Haye and his team are giving Valuev, as Lennox Lewis would say, “’nuff respect.”