Upbeat Booth plots Haye’s path: Interview
 Interview by Martyn Elliot (December 24, 2004)
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When world amateur silver medallist David Haye turned professional in 2002, British boxing was not prepared for the impact he would make. The Londoner smashed his first ten opponents aside in just 20 rounds and his confident, media friendly persona outside the ring ensured he soon became one of the most talked about fighters in the country.
After dispensing with former IBF champion ‘King’ Arthur Williams in just three rounds Haye boasted he was ready to beat the likes of Kelvin Davis and Jean-Marc Mormeck. However, he came unstuck against veteran IBO cruiserweight belt holder Carl Thompson in September, when he ran out of steam after trying to blast out his opponent in the early rounds and was stopped in the fifth.
The man with the task of getting Haye’s career back on track is his trusted trainer and manager Adam Booth. The pair have worked together since Haye’s glittering amateur career and despite the Thompson setback he has no doubts about the 24-year-old’s ability and potential.
One person who did question Haye’s ability was ever-improving British and Commonwealth 200-pound champion Mark Hobson. The Yorkshireman’s quietly impressive progress was largely overlooked and he had to watch as the press lauded Haye, despite the fact Hobson was the one who had earned the belts.
“I’m getting a bit sick of him. I’d like to fight him, to give him a chance, and see if he could step up. I want people to know that,” Hobson recently told doghouseboxing. “We want to fight him and we’d like him next. As long as the money is right we’ll fight him.”
The fact that Haye upset a rival neither surprised nor bothered Booth, who would love to see his boxer go toe-to-toe with Hobson for the British and Commonwealth titles.
“He wants to shut David’s big mouth - so do I at times,” joked Booth.
On a more serious note, he added: “When David saw what Mark Hobson had said he called me straight away and said ‘make the fight’. So that’s what I’m trying to do - make the fight.
“Hobson is one of the most improved young fighters around - particularly at cruiserweight - we respect him and it would be a great fight to put on. I enquired about it before, but it didn’t come off. I don’t really know why, but it is a fight we want.”
With just 12 fights under his belt there is a feeling in some quarters that Haye does not deserve a shot at the British and Commonwealth titles yet - in fact rumour has it that the British Boxing Board of Control share the view. Booth understands why, but does not agree.
“What had Tony Moran done to fight Mark Hobson?” he asked, referring to the Liverpool based contender who lasted less than three rounds with the champion in March. Booth’s aim was not to belittle Moran, but merely to point out that it is an easy accusation to level at young fighters.
He continued: “David’s beaten Tony Dowling, who beat Denzil Browne in his previous fight - and Browne was given an eliminator against Lee Swaby. David’s also beaten Arthur Williams, a former world champion who was ranked higher than most of the British guys and he went on to beat an American prospect (Luke Munsen). Those two wins justify David getting his shot.
“And justified or not, Mark Hobson and David Haye are two good young fighters who want to fight each other. And the boxing public want to see it. That should be enough.”
A British title fight is not the only option under consideration by Team Haye and promoter Fight Academy. After blasting away journeyman Valery Semishkur in just 96 seconds on his return to action a fortnight ago Haye will be in action in another warm-up fight on January 21, before taking on a highly-ranked opponent in late February - whether or not the opponent is Mark Hobson is still to be decided.
“David isn’t crawling under a rock just because he lost to Carl Thompson, he wants another big fight,” explained Booth. “Ideally he wants Hobson because there is some needle there. That might not happen but it will be a good opponent, a test.
“David cannot understand fighters who only want safe fights. His attitude is ‘why do the boring training and not take the big fights’. He wants to progress and he wants the challenges.”
It was that attitude that prompted Booth to push for the IBO title fight against Thompson, despite his boxer’s relative inexperience in the professional ranks. At the time some warned it was too much, too soon, but the majority of fight fans believed Haye had the talent to see off the old warrior. They were proved wrong, but Booth has no regrets about taking the fight.
“I had every confidence in David before the fight and I’m equally as confident now,” he insisted. “There’s no disgrace in losing to Carl Thompson.”
He was though unhappy with the way Haye performed. All his preparation was geared to take The Cat into the latter stages of the fight, but instead he went after an early knockout and paid the price for punching himself out within two rounds.
“He boxed like a brainless idiot on the night,” admitted Booth. “He threw punches like a novice and had nothing left after a couple of rounds. The lactic acid built up and he couldn’t move freely. He was taking punches and his body would not respond.
“He learned a lot in that fight. Not a technical lesson, but about applying a fight strategy. When he boxed Arthur Williams David stuck to the game plan we agreed and we all saw how well it worked. Against Thompson he learned what happens when you apply a strategy badly.”
The trainer was keen to express his admiration for Thompson’s performance and added: “We both had immense respect for Carl before the fight and even more after it. I thought he may have used up his last life against Sebastian Rothmann when he was teetering on the brink of defeat (only to produce a stunning ninth-round knockout). But he proved us wrong again.”
The defeat apparently did little to affect Haye’s immense faith in his own ability, as he demonstrated against Semishkur.
“David isn’t a fighter who struggles with confidence,” explained Booth. “He just likes fighting. He enjoys a good tear up in the ring. With David the problem is trying to hold him back.
“In his later amateur fights he fought mainly against international class opponents. They were people he could use his skills to outbox, but he always preferred to get into a real fight - he loves the high adrenalin stuff, that’s the sort of career he will have.
“The Semishkur fight was just to get him back into the ring - it wasn’t anything special and we didn’t claim it was. He loves fighting, but sometimes he is a difficult person to get to do things in the gym with enthusiasm. He was hugely embarrassed after the Thompson fight. He felt like a fool because of the way he fought. But now he’s had another fight it is behind him. He’s enthusiastic and my job of training him is much easier.”
Haye’s approach to bouts certainly makes for exciting viewing, as his record of 11 knockout wins and one defeat in a five-round tear-up attests. But if you love to turn every contest into a toe-to-toe then you need a good chin. Before the defeat by Thompson he was put on the canvas by super-middleweight Lolenga Mock, but got up to stop the Congolese fighter. There are some in the game who believe Haye’s chin is a weakness - not surprisingly Booth disagrees.
“It was fatigue that cost him against Thompson,” he insisted. “His head was clear but he couldn’t respond because of tiredness. I took the decision to pull him out after he took a big one-two. It was better to go away and make sure he could come back another day.
“I’ve seen him take shots flush on the chin in sparring against heavyweights like Danny Williams and (Sultan) Ibragimov – not headguard shots, the real thing - and they had little effect on him. But I’ve also seen him hurt in fights by punches that should not have hurt him. Everyone knows he’s been down but, amateur and professional, he’s never finished a fight on the floor. He’s lost, but only ever on his feet.
“The plusses in David’s game far outweigh the minuses. His basic punching power and hand speed are world class - that’s why he’s such an exciting fighter.”
So after a year in which Haye experienced the highs and lows of boxing, does Booth still believe his fighter will reach the very top?
“I try not to make predictions - maybe about little things, but not bold predictions,” he said. “This sport is unpredictable, that’s why it’s so fascinating - the sport of kings.
“David will tell you what he is going to achieve and people like someone who is brash, someone cocky, a little bit arrogant. But I’ll judge him at the end of his career.”
Booth sounded confident - in 2005 we’ll find out whether he was right to be.
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