David Haye (Right) throws a right hand at Nikolay Valuev. PHOTO: Chris Royle - Hoganphotos/Golden Boy Promotions

When I was a kid growing up in the 1970s, only one Briton had won the world heavyweight championship, and that was Bob Fitzsimmons in the previous century.

Things have changed since then – we’ve seen Lennox Lewis, Herbie Hide, Frank Bruno, and the forgettable Henry Akinwande.

David Haye, who beat the gigantic Nikolay Valuev for the WBA version of the crown, has now joined them. By all accounts it wasn’t the most satisfactory of victories, with several ringsiders thinking Valuev had done enough to win the decision. As it was, one of the three judges scored it a draw.

Anyway, some pundits are already starting to draw comparisons between Haye and Evander Holyfield, as the only cruiserweights to win world titles at heavyweight. Be warned, Haye fans, there’s a massive difference in the class of Holyfield and Haye.

Haye has captured just one version of the world belt. When Holyfield won the heavyweight crown, it was the undisputed title which Buster Douglas had taken from Mike Tyson.

Furthermore, don’t forget there have been light-heavyweights who moved up to win world heavyweight titles – Gene Tunney, Michael Spinks and Michael Moorer.

If Haye wants to emulate Holyfield – and Lewis, for that matter – he has to unify the title by beating the Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali.

Right now, Haye can call himself Britain’s world heavyweight champ No 6. That’s it.

Related posts:

1. Valuev v Haye and the (poorer) state of heavyweight boxing today! Talk about David against Goliath – in terms of size,...
2. If Miguel Cotto beats Manny Pacquiao, how big an upset will it be? Miguel Cotto has been slapped with the tag of underdog...
3. View seven of the greatest one-punch KOs of all time Boxing fans saw three great one-punch knockouts last weekend. Mlungisi...
4. Is Manny Pacquiao the greatest southpaw of all time? Southpaw boxing is a relatively recent phenomenon. For nearly a...
5. Why Mayweather is up there, and De La Hoya & Tyson are not Many readers have questioned my decision to include Floyd Mayweather...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.