November 7 will feature a David and Goliath match, as WBA WorldHeavyweight champion will Nikolay Valuev battles David Haye for the belt.

Although Valuev has held the heavyweight title for over a year,  many boxing pundits still doubt his abilities as a pugilist. Many are attributing Valuev’s 50 wins to his sheer size. That claim is partly true. At 7′0″ weighing more than 300 pounds, the Russian Giant is easily the world’s biggest champion of the modern era. But to say that Valuev is a mere sideshow attraction gives disservice to his talent. His slow and awkward punches are sometimes painful to watch, but those punches have power behind them. The combination of power and length makes it very hard for opponents to fight effectively against Valuev.

Despite his outstanding record, Valuev is very much beatable. He is slow and he is getting older, and these can be taken advantage of by a much quicker fighter like Haye. In his fight against Evander Holyfield last year, Valuev could not tag the  46-year old American, who closed in to punch and moved out to avoid the Russian’s punches. Valuev netted a majority decision win, but anyone who saw the fight can make a case in favor of Holyfield winning the fight. In Valuev’s only loss in the hands of Ruslan Chagaev, the smaller Chagaev used his speed to neutralize Valuev’s long reach. Haye is quicker than Chagaev and the  46-year old Holyfield. He will surely use the same strategy of moving in and out of Valuev’s reach.

David Haye’s most successful campaign had come from the cruiserweight division, were he became the undisputed champion in 2008. He is new in the heavyweight division: he has participated in only two heavyweight bouts in his career. It is natural to have concerns about his campaign in the heavier division. Will his chin hold up against heavier punches? Will he carry his vaunted speed as he moves up in  weight?

As to the speed issue, it is no question that Haye will be much faster than Valuev come fight night. And this will be his main weapon against the behemoth. He will circle around the Russian, all the while jabbing and throwing a power punch or two.

As to his chin, it is safe to assume that Haye will not engage Valuev in a brawl. David will “ride the bicycle” all throughout the match. Haye can survive Valuev’s heavy punches, as long as the Englishman can keep them to a minimum.

What is more of a concern to the Hayemaker is his stamina. He has shown in his loss  against Carl Thompson that pacing can be a problem. In that fight, Haye was leading comfortably in the first five rounds, but he punched himself out, giving Thompson the opportunity for a knockout in the fifth. There lies the rub for Haye : how can he keep his stamina and maintain the fast-paced style against Valuev?

Assuming that Haye has prepared well for the fight, it is hard to see Valuev winning this fight. Haye is an active fighter, who can be the first boxer to knock Valuev out. Even if Haye does not score a knock out, the busier Haye will probably get the judges nod when the match comes to the cards, as long as the fight is judged fairly.

Photo credit: dailymail.co.uk