A fight with so much intrigue and so much on the line 

This Saturday at the 02 Arena David Haye and Tony Bellew will meet in a Heavyweight grudge match that has gripped the fight game and the nation. This fight has been building for nearly a year and there is so much fascination to it that will all have us glued witn the first bell ring this Saturday.

Why this fight is worth watching 

With Bellew (WBC Cruiserweight champion) stepping up to fight Haye some will wonder why is this fight so intriguing to many fight fans then let me tell you why.

This fight is worth watching because over the last year a heated rivalry has bee flaring up between these two from Bellew winning his title in front of home faithful at Goodison Park (home of his team Everton) to his first defence when after beating Haye’s friend BJ Flores he came through the ropes and jumped out of the ring and taunted Haye who was doing work for Sky TV. Things then got heated after the fight was made official when they came face to face at a Press Conference and afterwards at the face off Haye went up in his face and Bellew pushed him back and Haye threw a shot which just missed. The seed for this also stems back to a sparring session they had years ago when Haye was just starting and Bellew was still an amateur, Bellew claims he got the better of him in that session to which Haye will say different.

Another reason to watch this is that it’s another grudge that the sport of boxing delivers us. We have seen many over the years but they always seem special when it’s an all British affair and with these two there is definitely no love lost at all, you wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t shake hands afterwards because of the dislike between one another.

Antoher reason to watch this is these two are ferocious punchers and their fights tend to end early. They don’t tend to go beyond the sixth round a lot and have rarely been the distance. Haye can knock anyone out with his right hand and Bellew carries a devastating left hook, so if you like knockouts this is definitely the fight for you.

Why Bellew has to win: 

When you look at a big fight you have to look and see why both need to win.

When you look at Tony (The Bomber) Bellew and the reason he has to win it’s simple he has to back up what he has said. For Bellew he has talked the talk and now has to walk the walk. Bellew from Liverpool has worked incredibly hard throughout his career for this moment, after beginning his career at Light-Heavyweight and having failed at two attempts at a world title he finally won it against Illunga Mukabu at Goodison Park (as I mentioned earlier) and right from the off he’s stated his desire for Davd Haye and has been on about it non-stop. A big reason he has to win is because he needs to back up his reasons for calling Haye out for a year and not be known as the guy who called for a fight and then lost. Most people would say Bellew has less to lose because he can go back down to Cruiserweight and defend his title and unify down there but knowing Bellew he’ll want to win this badly and yet let everyone know against the odds he won it. Under trainer Dave Coldwell Bellew has improved a lot since they linked up in 2014 and Coldwell who used to work Haye’s team alongside his old trainer Adam Booth so he’ll know how Haye works and thinks which could be big plus for Bellew or his biggest downfall. There are many reasons why Bellew has to win but you’d say his biggest reason is to prove he belongs amongst Britain’s best right now.

Why Haye has to win: 

For David (Hayemaker) Haye this is his biggest fight for five years since he fought Dereck Chisora and he’ll really want to win this if wants more big fights in the future.

As someone who has followed David Haye for 9 years and been a fan for a long time this his big fight since his comeback last year after a three year layoff. Haye posses freakish power and explosiveness with his punches and his fights don’t tend to go on for long. Haye has always been one of Britain’s best fighters of the last years and always been a big draw to hardcore’s and casuals, he unified the Cruiserweight division in 2008 after stopping Enzo Maccrinelli in two rounds in what was another domestic dust up Haye set his eyes in the Heavyweight division and within a year he beat then champion Nikolai Valuev in a decision victory which surprised a lot of people due to Valuev’s size but Haye found a way to win. Haye has alway lived off big fights and thrived under big occasions, one of the reasons he has to win is due to his desire to become Heavyweight Champion again and hopefully meet the winner of Joshua-Klitschko later this year he’d prefer Joshua perhaps due to the all Brithsh dust-up. Haye also has to win to prove any doubters wrong about his ability to still fight amongst the big names and be the big name again among the other heavyweights. Among the many reasons Haye has to win you could say is that he wants to win another grudge match and prove that he’s the king of hill amongst our fighters having loads of big fights against fellow countrymen this is arguably his big challenge and one he must prevail in to prove all the doubters wrong once and for all.

How I see the fight going and Verdict: 

I don’t see this fight going long especially with their punch power and explosiveness. I can see ways both can win and at times it’s been a hard to predict. I’m going with my head and say Haye wins by KO inbetween the 4-6th rounds because he is the more accurate puncher and better boxer but wouldn’t be surprised if Bellew lands big and rocks him. But as I said I’m sticking to my verdict and going for a Haye victory.