Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye: 10 Things We Will Learn from the Fight

By (Correspondent) on June 29, 2011

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LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10:  David Haye listens to Wladimir Klitschko as he talks to the press during the David Haye v Wladimir Klitschko Press Conference at the Park Plaza Hotel on May 10, 2011 in London, England.  (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Whether you're a passionate boxing fan or just a fight fan in general, chances are you're looking forward to Saturday's highly anticipated match between Wladimir Klitchko and David Haye. Not only is this Klitchko's biggest challenge in years, it's arguably the best heavyweight fight since Wladimir's brother Vitali fought Lennox Lewis eight years ago.

Since Lewis' retirement, both Klitschko brothers have dominated the heavyweight division with ease, but to be fair they also haven't faced a very high level of competition. Thankfully, David Haye is anything but a pushover and poses the biggest threat to Klitschko's heavyweight reign.

Nobody knows for sure what will happen when the opening bell rings and these two face-off, but based on their respected careers we definitely have enough information to make a few educated predictions. Here are 10 things we expect the world to learn after Saturday night's fight

Germany Loves Wladimir

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10:  Wladimir Klitschko talks to the press during the David Haye v Wladimir Klitschko Press Conference at the Park Plaza Hotel on May 10, 2011 in London, England.  (Photo by Christopher Lee/Getty Images)
Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Wladimir Klitschko was born in the Ukraine, but the Germans have claimed him as one of their own. In many ways, they see him in the same light that Americans see Muhammad Ali.

They don't seem to care that he's typically a boring safety first fighter who favors the jab way too much. All they care about is he's the best Heavyweight in the world right now and he calls Germany his home.

Germany loves Wladimir and Wladimir loves Germany.

David Haye Does His Fighting Outside of the Ring

HAMBURG, GERMANY - JUNE 27:  Wladimir Klitschko (L) and David Haye attend a press conference on June 27, 2011 in Hamburg, Germany to preview the heavy weight title fight between them which will be held on the 2nd July 2011 at the Imtech Arena.  (Photo by
Scott Heavey/Getty Images

The Hayemaker has done a marvelous job of hyping this fight every time he steps in-front of a microphone. As far as promoting the fight goes, Haye has done a much better job than his opponent Wladimir Klitschko.

Unfortunately, for everyone tuning into Saturday night's fight who hasn't seen Haye in action before may be a little bit surprised to find out he's not anywhere near as aggressive once he steps into the ring. He's the classic example of somebody who talks a big game, but doesn't back it up in the squared circle.

Wladimir Klitschko Safety First, Rarely Take Risks

MALLORCA, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 18:  Wladimir Klitschko exercises with a box ball during a training session on November 18, 2008 in Camp de Mar on the Balearic Island of Mallorca, Spain. Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine will fight Hasim Rahman of the United S
Jasper Juinen/Getty Images

If you have ever seen a Wladimir Klitschko fight before, this will come as no surprise to you. Ever since he hooked up with legendary trainer Emanuel Steward he has been a safety first fighter who rarely ever takes a risk.

In his last couple of fights he has sometimes taken more risks than usual, but his last few opponents have also had absolutely no business being in the same ring as him. Since David Haye poses a bigger threat than all of Klitschko's recent opponents, don't be surprised if he lives behind his jab and never tries to go for a knockout.

Call him a smart fighter or a boring fighter, either way he has a style that's difficult for anyone to overcome.

Wladimir Klitschko Has One of the Best Jabs Ever

ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - FEBRUARY 06:  Vladimir Klitschko in action during the Laureus Golf Challenge at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club part of the 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards on February 6, 2011 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.  (Photo by
Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

Whether you think his style is boring or not, you have to acknowledge Wladimir's jab as one of the best in boxing history. Granted, he hasn't faced great offensive fighters, but there's a reason why none of his opponents can come anywhere close to hitting him square in the chin.

Not only does he have a strong and accurate jab, it's also his best defensive weapon. His long reach makes it nearly impossible for any of his opponents to do damage on the inside.

When all is said and done, Wladimir Klitschko may go down as the best jabber boxing has ever seen.

David Haye Is a Great Cruiserweight, Average Heavyweight

LAS VEGAS - DECEMBER 07:  David Haye arrives at the Mandalay Bay resort to preview the fight between Amir Khan and Maros Maidana on December 7, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.  (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
Scott Heavey/Getty Images

As a cruiserweight, David Haye cleaned up the division. He was a complete fighter with size, power and speed. However, he has yet to be tested against a great heavyweight. At 6'3" and around 220lbs, Haye will look small in comparison to the 6'6" 250lbs Wladimir Klitschko.

His power hasn't transferred over to the Heavyweight division like he would have hoped and the 20lbs muscle gain has taken away from his overall ring speed.

We admire him for moving up in weight and trying tp compete with the big boys, but his frame is better suited for the cruiserweight division.

Boxing Could Use a Super Heavyweight Division

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 23:  Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine celebrates his 12 round unanimous decison victory over Sultan Ibragimov of Russia during their WBO and IBF/IBO Unification Heavyweight World Championship bout on February 23, 2008 at Madison Squar
Chris Trotman/Getty Images

With heavyweight boxers seemingly getting bigger and bigger thee days, it may finally be time to split the division into two by adding a super heavyweight division.

As it is right now anyone over 200lbs is considered a heavyweight. That means a 5'10" 205lb heavyweight contender could potentially get matched up against a 7'0" 300lb fighter like Nikolay Valuev. Obviously, that's not the recipe for a fair fight.

Creating a separate super heavyweight division that would include all fighters from 231lbs and up while leaving the regular heavyweight division including all boxers from 200lbs-230lbs would make perfect sense and is something that has been discussed for a long time amongst boxing fans.

No Such Thing as a Klitschko Killer

BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 07:  (L-R) Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali Klitschko attend a photocall to promote the 'Klitschko' documentary movie at Astor Film Lounge on April 7, 2011 in Berlin, Germany.  (Photo by Andreas Rentz/Getty Images)
Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Love them or hate them everyone must agree that Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko are by far the two best heavyweights in boxing today and that's not going to change unless they both suddenly decide to retire.

While boxing fans continue to look for the next great heavyweight they fail to realize that there are two of them right underneath their nose. Both Klitschko brothers are great heavyweights and will go down in history as just that regardless of what you think of their level of competition.

Americans Hate Klitschko's

MUNICH, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 27: Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko attend the Laureus Media Award on November 27, 2006 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Theo Klein/Getty Images)
Theo Klein/Getty Images

Let's face it, no matter what either Klitschko brother accomplishes at this point in their careers, American fight fans will never enjoy watching them fight.

American boxing fans love fighters like Manny Pacquiao who come out aggressive from the opening bell on. They like watching fighters who are willing to take a hit to give a hit and most importantly they love knockouts!

Vitali nor Wladimir Klitschko will ever be embraced by Americans.

Vitali vs. Wladimir Must Happen

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 24:  Vitali Klitschko (R) celebrates with his brother Wladamir after beating Corrie Sanders by TKO in the eight round and becomes the WBC Heavyweight Champion on April 24, 2004 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo
Robert Laberge/Getty Images

Since we've already established how much American fight fans hate the Klitschko brothers, just imagine how much they'd love to see them beat the living crap out of each other.

After Wladimir dominated Haye on Saturday night there's really only one heavyweight fight left that interests boxing fans and that's brother vs. brother. Unfortunately, both brothers have already stated numerous times throughout the years that they would never fight each other in the ring.

If the Klitschko's won't fight each other, we can officially consider the heavyweight division dead for the time being.

Wladimir Klitschko Can Be Considered an All-Time Great

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 23:  Wladimir Klitschko of the Ukraine celebrates his 12 round unanimous decison victory over Sultan Ibragimov of Russia during their WBO and IBF/IBO Unification Heavyweight World Championship bout on February 23, 2008 at Madison Squar
Chris Trotman/Getty Images

You can call him boring or and say he's the product of a weak heavyweight division, but you have to admit that Wladimir Klitschko is by far the greatest heavyweight boxer since Lennox Lewis retired eight years ago.

He has fought everyone in the division and beaten them with ease. He doesn't control how talented his opposition is because he has fought everyone in his path. The truth is this is a weak era for heavyweight boxing and there isn't any light at the end of the tunnel.

Learn to love the Klitschko's for how dominate they are or you might as well stop watching heavyweight boxing altogether. They will continue to own the division for as long as they want to.

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