Bravery of the Hayemaker remarkable after tendon rupture
Liverpool’s Tony Bellew produced the result of his boxing life last night, defeating David Haye by a TKO in the 11th round of their hugely anticipated contest at the 02 Arena in London. The crowd were treated to an amazing fight which took a dramatic turn in the 6th round, when Haye ruptured the achilles tendon in his right ankle.
Quite how Haye managed to fight a further five rounds only he will probably know. As impressive as this result is for Bellew, the injury was a massive factor, and Haye – who was ahead four rounds to one on my scorecard up to that point – must be cursing his luck, especially as the injury occurred in such freakish fashion.
Haye’s bravery from this point on was astonishing. He was quite literally fighting on one leg. Hopefully the public’s appreciation of Haye’s extraordinary effort will go some way to offset the reaction to his crass and demeaning pre-fight trash talking, which went way beyond acceptable boundaries – with Bellew guilty of the same charge.
The fight started with Haye adopting a crouching style with trademark low hands. Both fighters landed some decent shots but it was all slightly ragged, but the simmering, menacing intensity was clear to see. No huge blows were struck, but it was clear this was already a genuinely good contest. Bellew probably edged the first round with his greater precision.
Round two was probably Haye’s, with both men firmly on the front foot looking to inflict some damage. It was looking like a very even contest and one that you couldn’t take your eyes off for second.
In the third, Haye’s work was the more noticeable, he was trying hard to tag Bellew with numerous jabs but Bellew was cleverly keeping himself just out of range. Things were slightly more tentative now from both fighters. Haye threw a huge right which Bellew avoided well.
Haye looked rather impatient in the fourth, his balance seemingly awry at times. He looked desperate to tag Bellew with something significant. Once again Bellew evaded him well, although he wasn’t really doing enough attacking of his own – and the rounds were stacking up against him. Haye’s best moment was a decent right, left, right combination which Bellew certainly felt.
Haye got his fans very excited during the fifth when he landed a huge left hook, trapping Bellew on the ropes. But Bellew regrouped, and it has to be said was taking Haye’s shots well. Was the Hayemaker’s famed power of yesteryear waning?
Round six – and the fateful moment that completely changed the fight. And it was so innocuous it defied belief. As the fighters broke from a routine exchange, Haye merely stepped backwards, and with his weight then shifting forwards as he prepared himself for his next punches, his right ankle flexed too far beneath him, presumably extending the tendon beyond its normal elasticity – with catastrophic results.
At first it was hard to work out exactly what had happened – but it was clearly major and Haye was in big, big trouble. He started limping badly and had no way of establishing a proper base from which to throw punches – can there be a worse situation for a boxer to find themselves in?
The remainder of the round was mayhem. Bellew went down but it was ruled a slip/push. Haye knew he was in massive trouble and tried to finish Bellew off immediately. But his punches were wild and rushed. Haye went down twice himself, caused by overbalancing as he tried to somehow make use of his one working leg to provide a launch pad – again there was no count. Bellew obviously sensed this was his big chance. But his shots, like Haye’s, were rather wild – too high on excitement and very low on precision.
From this point on, Haye was pretty much doomed, unless he could find a Hayemaker worthy of his nickname, before Bellew finished off the wounded animal in front of him. Quite how Haye lasted another four rounds is remarkable.
As the seventh round got under way, Bellew looked in danger of possibly punching himself out, such was his enthusiasm to finish Haye off. Haye could offer nothing in return. He took dozens of blows, was trapped on the ropes for long periods, but gamely battled on. Incredible stuff.
The next two rounds follow the same pattern. Bellew had virtually emptied his tank with his efforts to put Haye out of his misery. Haye simply refused to give up, taking an eye-watering degree of punishment. It was a tough watch. Haye was warned over a low blow at the end of the ninth – but it’s a miracle he could punch at all, never mind where they landed.
Haye emerged for the tenth with strapping on his ankle that looked like it was applied by someone on their first ever First-Aid class. It clearly offered neither protection or help, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The Referee is suitably unimpressed with its flapping end, and orders half of it to be removed. At least the delay caused by this farce gave Haye a few seconds respite from being Bellew’s personal punchbag.
Somehow, Haye has made it to the eleventh round – a minor miracle. He caught Bellew with a good right hand. But he then missed badly with a left hook, sending himself through the ropes, such was his lack of balance. He got to his feet but Bellew wasn’t going to be denied any longer. Haye finally succumbed to a combination of short hooks from Bellew, falling through the ropes. He struggled manfully to get up and re-enter the ring, but just as he made it back, with the count on nine, the towel flew in from his corner to save Haye any further punishment.
It was a sad end for Haye, who deserves immeasurable credit for his bravery and determination. One can only imagine what level of pain barrier he must have gone through after the injury. Haye travelled to Germany for treatment on his achilles pre-fight, so the concerns were clearly there for the Londoner before the fight started.
Despite the bad blood between the boxers in the build-up to the fight, they were fulsome in their praise for each other afterwards.
“Tonight, I was scared for the first time in my life. But I flip the switch and I scare myself, I can’t give in”, said Bellew.
“I’m a Scouser, and I can’t give in, can’t back down. I don’t want to keep doing this. It’s a hard sport, man. I just want to raise them kids and see them get old. My missus was scared last weekend. She cried, went to Dubai last Sunday, thought I was going to hospital”.
Bellew also praised Haye’s punching power – “When he hit me, I thought ‘Jesus Christ’ – but when you have a heart as big as I have, I will not stop”.
Clearly seeing himself as something of an outsider, Bellew labelled himself as “the king of the misfits”. But he was certainly gracious towards Haye. “David, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. He could have picked a lot of other guys, he picked me. I wanted to beat him. I’ve got so much respect for him. He’s a brilliant fighter – we can do it again”
Haye certainly wants to, and clearly needs to in his own mind.
“If he were to oblige, I’d fight him again in his hometown. If I want to get my stripes back, I have to go past this guy”, he said. “I’d love to do it again. The fans loved it. If the fans want to see it again, I’d do it again in Liverpool or Manchester”. Bellew then suggested Everton’s Goodison Park, where of course he won the WBC World cruiserweight title against the Congolese Ilunga Makabu last year. Haye looked as though he’d fight him again in Bellew’s back garden, such was his determination for a chance for redemption.
Haye refused to use his injury as an excuse when explaining the defeat. “I gave it my best shot, my best wasn’t good enough tonight. I take my hat off for Tony Bellew, he has the heart of a lion, he had bigger heart, bigger balls. He took my best shots, he got back up and put me down. He beat me fair and square.”
To hear Haye say, “No excuses, I ran into Tony Bellew” was perhaps his most telling quote. Whether it was an attempted deflection from his defeat, with all eyes on a rematch, or he truly now sees Bellew as the real deal, only he knows.
Bellew relished the result and clearly sees his star rising. “We will sit down, talk to David. I said he was a diva, but I think I might turn into that now! The salt and pepper is on my side of the table now, I am the most valuable heavyweight in the division outside of the champions”
Is this the end for Haye? Well, it’s a defeat he dreaded but the circumstances of it must be taken into account. His timing looked off on several occasions, but considering he’s had only six and a half minutes of fighting time in the previous five years, perhaps that’s no surprise. At 36 he’s no youngster in this game, and he’s had a lot of injuries – and surgeries – over the years. But when he’s on song, he remains an exciting fighter who is hugely watchable.
True, he probably doesn’t have the same brilliant hand speed of yesteryear, and you could argue that his failure to land a knockout blow on Bellew was another indication of decline. My view is that a fit and firing Haye is still worthy of a place in the Heavyweight scene at this top level, and I hope he returns to fight again after this injury.
As for Bellew, it’s a victory that may well put him in contention for valuable, significant fights in the near future. He’ll be 35 before this year is out, so his camp probably need to move quickly with their match-making skills. In judging his performance in this fight, as great a victory this was for him, it’s fair to ask a few questions.
He didn’t look particularly comfortable with the extra bulk he showed for this fight, and his stamina looked a shade on the questionable side. You could also criticise the length of time it took him to put Haye away, when he was so badly handicapped by the achilles injury. But Bellew remains an engaging character, and an exciting boxer who will hopefully entertain us again soon.
Joshua, Whyte, Tyson Fury, Hughie Fury, Haye, Bellew…it’s a very interesting period again for British heavyweight boxing. Whilst the quality may not always be at the highest level, the excitement and bravery of our fighters frequently entertains us splendidly – Haye and Bellew certainly did that with this cracker.
By Chris Tribe
5th March 2017
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