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Having disposed of hopelessly outgunned Australian fat guy, Mark de Mori (30-2-2, 26 KOs), David Haye (27-2, 25 KOs) is planning to fight again on May 21 at O2 Arena in London, a quick turnaround for a fighter that had a three-and-a-half year break between battering Derek Chisora and nearly decapitating de Mori.
They’ve yet to announce an opponent for the fight, but I wouldn’t get your hopes up, as I suspect they’re looking to get back out there and add to the highlight reel.
The former WBA heavyweight champion, and undisputed Cruiserweight champion, showed that he is at least good enough to fight a man that has no business fighting anyone that is remotely good at fighting, when he knocked de Mori out in 131 seconds, or just long enough to realize that Dave isn’t completely horrible at boxing coverage.
But having entered the top 10 of the WBA rankings, Haye is looking to move onward and upwards to titles and big fights in the next couple years, having already called out Anthony Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) numerous times since his victory. Although perhaps not in this next one.
Simply put, this will be another filler bout, letting Haye blow a few more cobwebs away, maybe with someone that can last a few more rounds than de Mori did. He’s coming into fights heavier, and he’s working with a new trainer in Shane McGuigan, so this is a different Haye to the one we last saw against Chisora, so there will likely be a period of bedding in against low-level opposition.
With that being said, Haye’s looking for the big money fights, and I’m sure if he was offered Joshua now, he’d take it, but Hearn is far from eager to start throwing his money man to the lions just yet. Which leaves us with a few fights of little worth until we get to see Haye in the kind of fights he should be. Haye vs. Joshua has Wembley Stadium written all over it, and I can’t wait.
All I really hope is that this fight is less of a horrific mismatch than the de Mori fight. Without being completely disrespectful to de Mori, who was incredibly graceful and funny in defeat (see his tweet below), he was in way over his head. Even with so long out of the game, Haye was always going to demolish de Mori, and really he could well have done some serious damage.
I understand the need for tune-ups and light touches, but we can’t keep bringing in opponents that are so woefully mismatched. One day, someone will get seriously hurt, and for what? If they don’t have a chance, it’s just leading someone to slaughter. Sure, the knockouts of guys like Artur Szpilka and Decarlo Perez are far harder, but those guys get in the ring with at least some chance of winning.
Apparently I met @mrdavidhaye , news to me, I don't remember anything 😉 pic.twitter.com/YpeKHvklaC
— Mark de Mori (@MarkdeMori) January 20, 2016
But forget all that, let’s get excited for Haye to return on May 21. Maybe it could be on QVC, or does Bebo want to carry it? Maybe Audley Harrison could be his opponent. We HAVE all been clamoring for that rematch ever since their hellacious war in 2010.
