David Haye's Punches Can't Back Up His Mouth!

Yap yap yap, David Haye did a fantastic job of talking his way into a fight against Wladimir Klitschko that some thought he had no business being a part of.  Haye was even able to fast-talk his way into a 50/50 split for the purse, something that is not real common in the sport.

Haye and his mouth were able to peak the curiosity of fight fans and make this bout one of the most anticipated heavyweight bouts since 1998 when Wladimir's brother Vitali faced Lennox Lewis.

The only talking that mattered when it was all said and done was Michael Buffer announcing a unanimous decision in favor of Wladimir Klitschko.

Once the talk stopped and the bell sounded to start the first round, the anticipation was over.  From this point on the crowd in Hanburg, Germany, which was at a fever pitch prior to the Championship fight, saw Haye begin a strategy of shucking and jiving that would eventually take the life out of the Haye-biased crowd.

I'm not going to bore you with a blow by blow of this fight that was more than agonizing to watch—my purpose here is to vent my frustrations about a sport that I have loved for over 30 years.

This fight was just another nail in the coffin of a sport that some think is already dead and buried.

Haye seemed weary of Klitschko's punches and seemed to be waiting to land the big punch.  Both fighters seemed to be feeling their way through the fight without a lot of aggression.  This is usually Klitschko's way, especially when the fight heads for the later rounds.  Klitschko usually has the advantage as the fight goes on and he is usually content with imposing his will without taking any big chances.

When it comes to the heavyweight division, the sport simply isn't nearly as sexy as it once was.

A big heavyweight fight nowadays is probably going to feature one of the Klitschko brothers, now more than ever because they now own all the belts.  The reason I bring this up is due to the fact that the fights are usually overseas and at an odd time which makes it all the more tough to gather an interest here in the states.

The only real drama in the fight came when Klitschko seemed to be pushing Haye to the canvas and in the seventh round he was deducted a point.  Commentators Jim Lampley and Larry Merchant seemed to think there was a bit of acting going on. Both would make their opinions quite clear on this matter as the fight matured.

The acting theory might have proved to be true. In the later rounds, Haye seemed to hit the floor at the slightest touch from Klitschko.  In the 11th round, Haye went to the canvas again, this time referee Genaro Rodriguez ruled it a knock down.

 At one point in the eighth round, a frustrated Jim Lampley would say, "Michael Spinks would be flat out ashamed to go in the ring and throw this little punches." This was said in response of Larry Merchant talking about previous heavyweights who were out-sized but were much more game than Haye at that point of the fight.

After the fight,  during the post fight interview, Klitschko talked to HBO's Larry Merchant saying, "he was scared to fight me," referring to the fact that Haye never really wanted to engage with the much bigger Klitschko.

Haye, on the other hand, disputed this with his own answer as to why he didn't live up to all the trash he talked before the fight. "I broke my toe," said Haye while showing his so-called injury to Merchant in the post fight interview on HBO.

All in all, it was just another ho hum fight in a sport that desperately needs someone to step up and stop the bleeding pouring out of boxing like a cut on Rocky Balboa's face after going the distance with Apollo Creed.

The sport needs a marquis fight that lives up to the hype: Attention Floyd and Manny!  We need you!