PREDICTION PAGE: Haye and Khan To Win

Don't be suprised if Haye stops Chisora early; his style is a perfect match for Chisora.

David Haye-Dereck Chisora:

From a strategical perspective, we already have an idea on how this fight will play out. Dereck Chisora, a swarmer, will be pressing the action,inside his ” Joe Frazier-esque” cross arm defense, looking to close the distance so he can smother and throw his short, wider punches in close.On the other hand, David Haye, unlike Chisora, operates best on the back foot, moving away from his opponent, keeping the distance to allow for straighter, more precise power shots from the outside. In this regard, Haye's style is somewhat reminiscent of current middleweight champion Sergio Martinez -looking to lure his opponent into traps.As a result,we have an almost perfect stylistic contrast -think of Ali-Frazier in terms of what both fighters are trying to accomplish against the other.

I believe this fight comes down to two things: Can Dereck Chisora handle David Haye's power? And if he can, Can David Haye prevent a fight at close quarters?

There should be little to no doubt that Haye will be able to land his overhand right hand from the outside. Chisora may resemble Joe Frazier in terms of his characteristics, but he falls way short in matching Frazier's unbelievable head movement and underrated defense. Frazier was very tough to hit with clean blows as he bobbed and weaved his way inside. Chisora however,is pretty much a straight line attacker, whose main form of defense is his durable chin.If you take a look at his losing effort against Vitali Klitschko, you won't see much variation from Chisora in terms of head movement as Vitali was able to land with his right hand almost at will. Chisora though,was able to absorb Vitali's best shots and just kept coming.

So then, if Vitali Klitschko could not take Chisora out within the distance, then surely David Haye won't be able to neither? Not necessarily.

I believe Vitali's at his best when he's pressing the attack, walking his man down behind his jab and straight right hand. David Haye on the other hand is able to generate tremendous power as he's moving away from his opponent. Haye's best work comes when he's backing up.

As a general rule, I'd usually pick a swarmer over a boxer -thinking of how Ali was given hell by Frazier across three fights, how Alexis Arguello could not handle the relentless pressure of Aaron Pryor and more recently, how Ivan Calderon's high level boxing ability was not enough to out manoeuvre Giovani Segura.This is where David Haye is different from most boxers who fight off the back foot -he's a mover of a different sort. Like he'll probably admit himself,he's from the Roy Jones school of boxing. Haye won't be throwing the jab much.Instead, as Chisora's coming inside, Haye will be feinting and falling in with power shots. I believe Haye's ambush style is the perfect foil for ultra aggressive opponents, who have a tendency to leave themselves open as they are advancing.

Prediction:

The fact that this is a ten round fight does not bode well for Chisora, who will most likely be chasing the fight right from the off. Chisora must set a frenetic pace and not give an inch -Haye mustn't be given the space he requires to let his straighter, faster shots go. If Chisora can cut the ring off and keep Haye in front of him, then Haye's lack of in-fighting skills could be exposed for all to see.

Highly unlikely in my eyes.

I have a feeling that this fight could be over very early. Don't be fooled by Chisora's strong showing against Vitali. David Haye is actually more dangerous than Vitali at fighting off of the back foot. Haye's power,contrary to Vitali's,is not jeopardized when he's moving away from his opponent. Haye moves quicker on the back foot, than Chisora can on the front foot.I will concede that the edge in stamina goes to Chisora {Haye has had problems in the past, remember the Thompson fight?} but I don't think this will be an issue here. I fully expect Haye to have connected with something worthy of ending the fight by around the sixth round. Haye's right hand will be unavoidable for Chisora. Look out for the Haye uppercut, which could also be a huge factor especially as Chisora will likely be crouching low as he's trying to weave his way inside -remember how Frazier was decimated twice by Foreman's uppercut as he closed the distance? Ali's jab by contrast, was nowhere near as effective against Frazier -something to look out for.

Don't be too surprised if we see a blowout from Haye before the mid-way point.

Amir Khan-Danny Garcia:

It's just been announced that this bout will be for the lineal title at 140 pounds. Regardless, I don't view this as a fight between the two best fighters in the division. I think there's quite the gulf in talent between Amir Khan and Danny Garcia, and I think we will see it on Saturday night. Technically speaking, there's not much between them, you could even argue that Garcia is the more proficient fighter from a technical standpoint. Khan however, is the type of fighter who can trump good technical skills with superior athleticism and physical gifts. There aren't many better pure boxers than Paulie Malignaggi, yet he looked like a fish out of water trying to cope with Khan's unpredictable “in and out” style, length and angles.

I'm fully aware that there's a lot of Amir Khan skeptics out there, with most pointing the finger at Khan's lack of an inside game -and rightly so- as a gaping hole in his set up. While this may be true, I think it only becomes relevant against a particular type of opponent. Both Marcos Maidana and Lamont Peterson have a certain toughness and grit to them that most fighters can only dream of. You have to remember, in order for those fighters to get inside on Khan, they both had to take enormous risks as they walked through Khan's offense -both fighters were hurt and dropped early by Khan.

I find it fascinating how far the Garcia camp have gone in trying to antagonize Amir Khan. To me, this is a clear indication that they want Khan to stand and trade with Garcia, which is never going to happen. The deficit in footspeed is gargantuan, and in this, lies Garcia's biggest problem. During the early stages of his last outing, Garcia struggled with Morales' movement as Garcia is at his best when his opponents are stationary, where he can then fire off quick combinations. His left to the body and left to the head is a favourite of his in particular. Khan won't be anywhere near him for this to land I'm afraid. Khan's superior movement, along with his advantages in height and reach will keep the fight where HE wants it. It's not that I consider Garcia a bad fighter, nor Khan a great fighter. I just don't think that Garcia has the mental toughness or footspeed to be able to keep up with, and, exploit Khan's biggest weakness. There's a conflict in styles from where I'm looking in.

Prediction:

Amir Khan's superior hand speed and movement should be far too much for Garcia to contend with, whose own hand speed and footwork by contrast,is pedestrian.Khan will be circling to his left, away from Garcia's best weapon, his left hook, while darting in with rapid fire combinations. By turning his opponent, Khan will reduce Garcia into following him around the ring, trying to land something that could possibly turn the fight around. Garcia's best chance is clearly to get inside on Khan, where Amir's length would count for nothing.I don't think Garcia has the quickness nor grit to get there.I think this fight will be one-sided in Khan's favour. Khan will be controlling the action throughout, using his length, faster hands and quicker reflexes to get in and back out before Garcia has a chance to react. Garcia will be looking to entice Khan to stay within firing range but to no avail. I think it's clear what Khan needs to do to get the win here -keep Garcia on the end of the jab, don't allow Garcia to set himself, which means keep turning him, so that he's moving to his right and against the natural directional flow of his lead left hand.

Khan's superior mobility will be enough to secure a wide decision.

Comment on this article