David vs Golaith was the original fight/bout/match. It showed that however small you are and the amount of odds that are stacked against you there’s always a chance. It’s maybe surprising then that Audley Harrison’s middle name isn’t in fact David such are the chances people are giving him on Saturday night. That’s if believe every word that comes out of David Haye’s mouth.
The World – or just the UK – will stop its usual booze filled Saturday night for however long it takes Haye to knockout Harrison and end what being billed as “The Best of Enemies.” As an eternal optimist the build up to this fight that leads me to think that the man frequently labeled Fraudley, has a fighting chance. He’s lost to some of the worst that the European scene has to offer and was very lucky in his last fight – that’s all he needs though. Some luck
Haye’s chin is more akin to a fragile glass vase than a part of the human anatomy and the lumbering Harrison may well find this as his place of solace. A number of the bookmakers also seem to agree with this thought.
William Hill is laying odds of 11/2 for Harrison to prevail, spokesman Graham Sharpe told us: “Two thirds of the bets we have taken have been for Audley, but as bookies we are determined to take as much for Harrison to win as possible.
“We have pledged to offer the highest price available for him in the lead-up to the fight and have taken a bookmaking decision to lay Harrison. Personally, I believe a good case for a Harrison victory is perfectly possible to make. It will be the biggest betting turnover fight between two Brits since Lewis-Bruno and up to £5m should be riding on the outcome.”
Alex Donohue from Ladbrokes, meanwhile, seems to be siding with Betfred’s earlier prediction that pay-per-view fans won’t be getting value for their money. He said: “The odds suggest an easy victory for the Hayemaker, and he is certainly talking as if this will be the case. Audley Harrison seems to have it all to do, however, this hasn’t stopped his army of fans backing him at 5/1 and if he does pull off a shock victory, we expect it to be by Knock Out or Technical Knock Out which is only a point bigger at 6/1.
“Despite this we envisage Haye putting Harrison out of his misery early on and quote 7/1 that Haye wins in the first round.”
Another widely felt opinion amongst those in the fight game is that Haye has been running from a real fight for too long and that an upset might shut him up. The South Londoner already ducked one Klitschko and continues to run his mouth on a number of social networks about how the deal’s never right. Charlie McCann, from Stan James, sounded more enamoured to this viewpoint when we spoke to him. McCann explained that: “Haye has not met anything of note and I give Harrison a punchers chance. In recent days the money, and it has only been a trickle, has come for Audley.
“Haye must fight one of the Klitschko brothers if he is to be given the recognition he craves and the boxing public will insist he meets Wladimir or Vitaliy next. That said he must win in Manchester tomorrow night first. Harrison has resurrected his career on more than one occasion in the past…is there one last hurrah for the former Olympic gold medal winner?”
We shall see tomorrow night in Manchester and I’m surely not the only one that would like to see Haye’s mouth well and truly shut.
