This weekend at the O2 Arena, London, former Heavyweight titlist (and former undisputed Cruiserweight) David Haye will be beginning a long overdue comeback. Not that it’s due to languishing exactly; the hard-hitting Brit had to pull out of a Tyson Fury showdown twice back in 2013 following a shoulder injury which brought about a 4 year absence. Experienced yet ultimately overmatched Mark de Mori will be Haye’s dance partner at the weekend.
The ‘Hayemaker’ is back! And – provided that shoulder is fully functional – this can only be seen as a good thing. While Haye is often remembered for naming a broken pinky toe as the reason he failed to beat Wladimir Klitschko back in 2011, he should be warmly welcomed back into the Heavyweight division which, although starting to shape up in 2015, can always do with some extra fire.
Haye has plenty of strengths, including lightning speed, athleticism, smart countering, and one-punch KO power. In terms of weaknesses, the glaring one would be his 6′ 3″ frame (some might argue Haye’s chin is a little suspect too). While it’s possible for Cruiserweights, such as Evander Holyfield, to achieve greatness at Heavyweight, Haye has shown difficulties adjusting to taller fighters such as the 6′ 6″ Wladimir Klitschko. (6′ 7″ Tyson Fury and 6′ 6″ Deontay Wilder could cause Haye problems if those fights get made in 2016).
While Haye blamed his toe as the culprit in the Klitschko encounter, I believe the real problem was negating Klitschko’s monster jab. (I’ve said it a hundred times already, but I rated – to an extent – Haye’s performance. Haye vs Klitschko may have been one-sided, but Haye didn’t recieve a beating, performed reasonably well for a ‘small Heavyweight’, and did more damage to Klitschko than Fury managed last November.)
Haye’s Heavyweight campaign between 2008 and 2012 was fairly colorful. Haye debuted against Monte Barrett, getting off the deck (if my memory serves me right) to score a 5th round stoppage. Next came Nikolay Valuev, not an outstanding talent, but certainly a gargantuan human being, standing at a skyscraping 7 feet. Haye pulled off the upset, executing a masterful gameplan en route to almost knocking out the giant in the final round to capture the WBA crown.
Haye defended his title twice in 2010, knocking out veteran John Ruiz in the 9th round, and mauling a timid, inspirited Audley Harrison inside 3 – what a stinker!. Haye’s first defeat at Heavyweight then came against Klitschko. The embarrassed Brit lost a wide points decision, his title, and made UK fight fans curse his name (after Haye had repeatedly promised to obliterate both Klitschko brothers in the buildup).
Haye stayed away from the ring for a year, but returned to take on a very game Dereck Chisora who started off strong but was eventually chopped down in violent fashion in the 5th. While Chisora wasn’t considered a serious contender prior by boxing afficionados, the fight was entertainig, an event of sorts, and helped fight fans forget about the Klitschko affair.
Now to introduce Mark de Mori, a man who…hang on, let me check out BoxRec real quick…
OK, that was an uncalled for joke, cos’ really, the man deserves more respect than that. The 33-year-old Australian isn’t a tomato can by any stretch, but the decent numbers on his record are incredibly deceptive. While you can’t deny he has a wealth of experience at Heavyweight (where he’s exclusively campaigned), the names on his record are pretty obscure. In fact, I’ve never heard of any of them; he did Draw with fringe contender Alex Leapai in 2004 (Leapai’s debut), which is probably the biggest name on de Mori’s record. De Mori will also give up an inch in height on fight night.
But I’m not one to write off a fighter just because he doesn’t have a marquee name victory under him. There are some pluses to be found. De Mori is currently riding a 21-fight winning streak since Drawing with a fella named Elisara Sii Uta in 2006. Hey, it’s something, right? Most impressively, 26 of de Mori’s 30 wins have ended inside the distance, which makes for a 79% KO ratio. OK, his opposition has been fairly weak, but you can’t deny the man has power. With Haye now fighting at 35, and coming off a 4 year layoff, de Mori could be in with a puncher’s chance at least.
Before you make your pick ahead of this Saturday night, check out our Haye vs de Mori Tale of the Tape, Facts & Stats. Note: Advantageous stats are indicated in red (some may be subjective), and championship stats refer to ‘fully fledged world titles’ only.
David Haye vs Mark De Mori
Physical/Vital
Birthplace
London, UK … Perth, Australia
Age
35 … 33
Height
6′ 3″ … 6′ 2″
Reach
78″ … (Unobtainable)
Stance
Orthodox … Orthodox
Record (Pro)
Debut
2002 … 2004
Bouts
28 … 33
Wins
26 … 30
Defeats
2 … 2
Draws
0 … 2
No Contests
0 … 0
Knockout Ratio
86% (24) … 79% (26)
1st Round Knockouts
7 … 6
2nd Round Knockouts
5 … 5
3rd Round Knockouts
3 … 6
4th – 6th Round Knockouts
2 … 9
Defeats by Knockout
1 … 1
Knockdowns Suffered
3 … 0
Rounds Boxed
119 … 118
12-Rounders Completed
2 … 1
Current Winning Streak
1 … 21
Undefeated Fighters Defeated
2 … 1
Latest Win
Dereck Chisora (TKO 5) … Marcel Zeller (TKO 1)
World Title Bout Experience
Wins
3 … NA
Defeats
1 … NA
Draws
0 … NA
No Contests
0 … NA
Successful Defenses
2 … NA
Major Titles Won
WBA (& Super), WBO, WBC (200 lbs), WBA (Heavy) … NA
Major Titles Currently Held
None … NA
Notable Performances
HAYE: Dereck Chisora (TKO 5), Audley Harrison (TKO 3), John Ruiz (TKO 9), Nikolay Valuev (MD 12), Monte Barrett (TKO 5), Enzo Maccarinelli (TKO 2), Jean Marc Mormeck (TKO 7), Tomasz Bonin (TKO 1), Giacobbe Fragomeni (TKO 9), Ismael Abdoul (UD 12), Lasse Johansen (TKO 8), Alexander Gurov (KO 1), Vincenzo Rossitto (TKO 2), Glen Kelly (TKO 2), Carl Thompson (TKO 5, LOSS)
DE MORI: Alex Leapai (Draw 6)
There you have it, fight fans. Based on our Haye vs de Mori Tale of the Tape, Facts & Stats, plus your own thoughts, how do you see this Heavyweight scrap unfolding at the weekend? Will Haye’s shoulder hold? Will he breeze past de Mori? Get those predictions rolling in…
Haye vs de Mori will headline a Dave (yep, you read that right) card on Saturday, January 16th. We’ll have Live Fight Results right here on Boxing Base, plus Live Round by Round Updates over on Twitter (@BoxingBase).
