Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye: Will Lack of a Resume Hurt Haye?

A funny thing happened to me as I tried to rank the top 5 fights of David Haye's career, in advance of Saturday's Heavyweight showdown with Wladimir Klitschko.

I couldn't come up with one.

Trust me, I tried.

Searching for career defining victories in David Haye's resume, is similar to searching for a needle in a hayestack (I hate puns). Outside of a Cruiserweight TKO of Jean Marc Mormeck—don't blame yourself if you've never heard of him—there isn't much to speak of.

Since moving up to Heavyweight, Haye has fought such "sexy" opponents as Monte Barret, circus show Nikolay Valuev, John "Huggy Bear" Ruiz and Audley "Not good enough to receive a nickname" Harrison. Even a glance at Haye's Crusierweight opponents doesn't turn up much.

So in preparation of the most anticipated Heavyweight fight since 2002, the question that remains is not of the quality of Haye's resume, but rather, does a lack of quality in a fighter's resume show a qualitative correlation between a poor performance in their first major championship fight? 

Dating back to 1986, the year in which Mike Tyson won his first heavyweight title, the answer is surprisingly no.

Despite the popular belief that fighters must first "earn their keep" or prove themselves against stiff competition, the past 25 years in the Heavyweight division has shown us that a lack of pedigree has little do with championship success.

Do Reggie Gross, William Hosea or Lorenzo Boyd ring a bell? How about Mike Evans, James Pritchard or Frankie Swindell?

Those groups of names are the last three opponents Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer faced before they each won the Heavyweight title—and they're not the only ones to have such a gold-paved road to the title. Neither Lennox Lewis or Vitali Klistchko faced a murderer's row in line to their first major Heavyweight championship wins. 

So while assessing David Haye's resume, and possibly having a few laughs, keep in mind that a lack of statement wins doesn't preclude one from happening.

Wladamir Klitschko would be wise to keep that in mind.