David Haye has ripped up the playbook regarding Deontay Wilder by claiming the American has got a ‘great chin’ ahead of a rematch with Tyson Fury.
Despite many seeing Wilder’s jaw as a problem when he gets tagged, Briton Haye says there’s nothing wrong with the American’s powers of recovery.
Ahead of Wilder vs Fury II, which takes place in Las Vegas on February 22nd, Haye reminisced about their sparring sessions back before ‘The Bronze Bomber’ became world title-holder.
“One thing people don’t mention is the punch resistance. I’ve never heard anyone say he [Deontay] can take a shot. He can take a shot,” Haye told Richie Woodall in a BT Sport breakdown.
“I’ve given him some digs and buzzed him a bit and he’s been back wanting more. Not only has he got a good chin – his recovery power is great.
“Most people you hit with one shot and their legs go a little bit and they are not quite the same. They step back and it takes a few rounds, but he’s straight back on it.
“I remember thinking, ‘he can punch and he can take a shot. Once he gets his technique sorted out, which he has now as he’s the heavyweight champion of the world’. I always knew this kid, as he was then, was going to be something special.”
David Haye on Deontay Wilder
Adding another huge claim into the bargain, Haye declared Wilder the most devastating knockout artist of all time.
“I truly believe Deontay Wilder is the hardest punching heavyweight ever,” stated the ‘Hayemaker’.
“It sounds like an exaggeration. I got hit by Wilder in sparring, and I’ve been hit by Wladimir Klitschko on the chin with ten-ounce gloves. But there was more effect from being hit by Wilder on the top of the head with eighteen-ounce gloves, with me wearing a head guard and it wasn’t even clean it was glancing. I felt that more.
“I remember after sparring thinking, ‘this guy is going to do something’. He was wild and all over the place, but the power (was there).”
Wilder remains a slight underdog with bookies to complete the job he almost finished in the first meeting. Back in December 2018, Fury was down and seemingly out. That’s until he rose from the dead in the twelfth and final round.
If any of the forthcoming sessions mimic their epic last one, fans are in for a real treat in just under two weeks’ time.
