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David Haye took less than eight minutes to force the referee to halt his fight against Audley Harrison in Manchester on Saturday, a result that means he retains his WBA heavyweight title.
Despite having a three stone weight advantage combined with a ten inch reach advantage, Harrison was clearly the underdog before the fight. This became brutally clear folowing two lacklustre rounds, when Haye fired into action during the third. Harrison was hit with a barrage of blows by the supremely agile Haye, and was knocked to the floor. Harrison got to his feet at the count of eight, but with Haye charging across the ring to throw a huge punch at Harrison, the referee decided enough was enough and called an end to the fight.
Pretty soon after the fight was over the real controversy started, firstly from Haye, who explained why he waited until the third round to start fighting Harrison properly by saying "I put a lot of money on the third round and a lot of my friends and family did, I didn't want to let them down by doing him too early." This has sparked a probe by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) over their regulations prohibiting boxers from betting on their own fights.
On the other side of the ring Harrison is facing his own investigation form the BBC, for not trying hard enough in the fight. However this allegation will be difficult to prove as Harrison rose to his feet when knocked to the floor, and it was a referee’s decision to end the fight.
Haye now looks set to fight the Klitschko brothers, Vitali holds the WBC title, whilst younger brother Wladamir holds the IBF and WBO belts. Successful wins against both of them will confirm Haye as undisputed champion. Whichever brother Haye fights, it’s set to be more of a contest than the Harrison fight.
At 39 years old Harrison would be contemplating retirement, it is difficult to see how he can get back to his best form now following a disappointing few years. Although he is likely to defend his EBU heavyweight title if challenged.
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