David Haye wasn’t perfect today at Upton Park, but he was plenty good enough in his return to the ring after a one-year absence, flooring Dereck Chisora twice in the fifth round and stopping him at 2:57 of that frame.
Haye (26-2, 24 KO) did what he said he’d do. The 31-year-old former cruiserweight champion dictated the fight moving backward, shutting Chisora (15-4, 9 KO) down with a sharp jab and the occasional right hand or left hook, and even a few body shots, to keep Chisora off-balance.
Chisora, on the other hand, appeared singularly focused on landing one big right hand, and I think that was to his detriment. The 28-year-old brawler pressured nicely, but Haye was able to handle it with good footwork and that ever-present left hand coming at Chisora, who didn’t use his own jab much at all.
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 14: David Hay (L)e in action with Dereck Chisora during their vacant WBO and WBA International Heavyweight Championship bout on July 14, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Scott Heavey/Getty Images)
Haye was starting to look tired in the third round, but it wound up not mattering. It could have been just the fact that he hasn’t been in a ring competitively in a year, or it could have been Chisora’s pressure, but whatever it was, the fifth round saw the brash Brit unleash heavy blows that were meant to stop Chisora, and did.
It’s not a win that makes a big-time, true elite fighter of Haye, and it’s still hard to envision him beating Vitali Klitschko, because Klitschko ain’t Chisora, but it’s a win that at least brings him back to the discussion with more legitimacy than he had a few months ago, and I think there’s an audience for that bout. But then I think there always was.
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