Tony Bellew v David Haye: Will the old David Haye show up?
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Preview and tips ahead of the big fight
Tony Bellew and David Haye clash at the O2 in London this Saturday night in a highly-anticipated re-match of their March 2017 bout.
Tony Bellew won that fight by TKO, stopping Haye in the 11th round. However, it was a particularly odd contest with Haye injuring his Achilles half-way through.
It badly restricted his movement to the point that Bellew had free range to punish the Hayemaker. But the Liverpudlian took an age to get the job done as the Bermondsey native bravely battled on.
The Coral News Team examines both fighters ahead of this clash and provide some predictions…
Bellew underdog again
Bellew took as much criticism as he did plaudits for his 2017 victory. He was a huge underdog going into the scrap with Haye the overwhelming favourite.
The 35-year-old put in a good performance and weathered the storm in the early rounds. Haye’s injury in the 6th casts a long shadow over the result, though.
Would Bellew have won the fight against a fully-fit Haye? That will be the question Bellew must answer and he’ll be hungry to do so.
Naturally the smaller man, he’ll be the underdog once more here. And he’ll be confident of upsetting the odds again as Haye struggles to put injury troubles behind him.
Can Haye dispel the doubts?
Bellew may be the underdog going into this heavyweight clash but David Haye has more questions to answer.
The Achilles injury he suffered in the first bout required surgery. And the rematch back in December had to be postponed as Haye underwent bicep surgery.
However, the 37-year-old has been training with renowned Cuban coach Ismael Salas for this re-match and looks in decent nick. He was particularly big for the original bout but should be in much leaner shape on Saturday night.
Is the old power still there? Can he last into the latter rounds of the fight?
Fight Prediction
There’s a bit of a horse racing narrative about this fight. Does the older, classier veteran still have what it takes against the solid, plucky underdog?
Expect this fight to go a similar route to the March 2017 fight. Bellew will probably fight on the back-foot in the early rounds in a bid to nullify Haye.
Haye will step on the gas and get Bellew out of their early by using his greater boxing ability and power. The Londoner is 8/11 to win by KO, TKO, or Disqualification.
However, the longer the fight goes on, the more the doubts will creep in as to whether Haye can last the course.
The Coral News Team are banking on Haye’s greater class to shine through here provided he’s fit. Haye to win in Rounds 1-6 is 13/8.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
