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Photo © Karl Stubbs
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The glittering amateur career of Bermondsey cruiserweight David Haye didn’t merely fine-tune the 25-year-old for the professional game – it also comes in handy for research purposes. Following the announcement of Haye’s first defence of his European title on March 24 at the storied York Hall, Bethnal Green, the London puncher revised his extensive amateur history to put a face to the name of his first title-challenger – Denmark’s Lasse Johansen, 14-0 (10).
With the help of Google and a quick image search, Haye remembered the man, and had the scars to prove it.
“I looked up Johansen on Google.com and instantly recognised his face,” the 15-1 (15) champion began. “I knew I’d shared a ring with him before, but just couldn’t put my finger on it.
“I then realised that Johansen gave me one of my toughest amateur fights in Athens, Greece, when we met in the 2000 Acropolis Cup. We had a real gruelling, close fight. I knocked him down in the second round, but that just seemed to spur him into life, and he was relentless from that point on.
“At one point in the fight, Johansen hit me with a right uppercut that forced my tooth through my lip. I’ve still got a scar there now. That injury – along with a busted knuckle I picked up against him - forced me out of the semi-final of the tournament. Johansen was the reason I had to settle for bronze.”
As well as successfully netting EBU title defence number one, Haye, therefore, has a bit of revenge in mind. However, he feels the proud Dane may have similar thoughts when the pair meet in London next week on a bumper Maloney Promotions bill.
“He’s a real brave, gutsy guy, who was crying when I beat him on points,” David explained. “He thought he’d done enough to win, and was pointing at my busted up face as a sign of his victory. He was a five-time national champion and won the majority of his fights - so defeat was a bitter pill for him to swallow.”
Given the broad amateur catalogue Haye has at his disposal, the former English champion can quickly differentiate between the Danes that could fight and the ones that couldn’t.
“I’ve fought every type of Danish amateur possible, and Johansen is definitely one of the better ones,” Haye assured.
“His big national rival, Johnny Jensen (unbeaten in 19 pro bouts), was an opponent of mine in the Copenhagen Box Cup in 2001, and I absolutely annihilated him. It was like watching a scorching hot knife slice through butter. It was one of the easiest fights of my amateur career. Jensen was Denmark’s number one heavyweight and I blasted him out in two rounds. It’s safe to say Johansen was a cut above the likes of Jensen.”
Having signed an exclusive promotional contract with Lennox Lewis’ former mentor Frank Maloney and younger brother Eugene, Haye is delighted that the London duo have managed to secure an unbeaten and ambitious foe for his inaugural title defence. Rather than comparing Johansen to the likes of Jensen, Haye pinpoints a more accurate likeness.
“He’s probably more of a Mikkel Kessler than one of the other hyped-up Danes you get nowadays,” David admitted. “Johansen’s willing to fight overseas – he’s boxed in the Czech Republic and Germany – and is also super-active. He fought four times in the last six months of 2005, which tells me something about his ambition.
“He’s been given a lot of preparation time for this fight and knows it is his big opportunity. Ever since beating Suda last May there has been talk of Johansen getting a title shot at some point. Now his time has arrived, and now is the time for his ‘L’ column to get its first blemish.”
For tickets to ‘The Hayemaker Hits London’, log on to www.maloneypromotions.com to order online, or alternatively, call the Box Office on 0871 226 1508.
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© Copyright / All Rights reserved: DHB 1998-2006
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Media Report (March 16, 2006)
