Bracknell

The world has been crying out for a new heavyweight sensation and David Haye last night showed Bracknell that he could be the man to fill the gaping void that is afflicting the top division.

Haye won the European cruiserweight title in remarkable style, when he knocked out Alexander Gurov in Bracknell with the first punch he threw in anger. Haye has long had a reputation as a sensational puncher but he took matters to a new level as he finished off Gurov in only 45 seconds, including the ten-second count.

Gurov, from Ukraine, was rated No 2 in the world by the WBC and had lost only once in nearly eight years, but he had no answer to Haye’s power. For the first 30 seconds at Bracknell, Gurov stalked Haye, 25, but the Londoner then pawed out a left jab and followed it up with a vicious straight right which left Gurov flat on his back.

The only British boxer to reach the final of the World Amateur Championships, Haye should already be a bigger name than he is. The only doubts about him surrounded his dedication to training and his stamina.

But afterwards, Haye declared his intention to move up to heavyweight within the next two years. “My only problem tonight was making the weight,” he said. “I walk around about 20lb over the cruiserweight limit so can only keep getting down for so long. I have about four or five fights to clean up the cruiserweights before I go up to heavyweight.”

And what a sensation he could be there. Good looking, a good talker with a big punch, he could become a star on both sides of the Atlantic. “One punch does not prove I have got stamina, but all my problems in the past have been mental,” he said. “Everything is coming together now.”

The Times December 17, 2005