November 7th, 2009 - The day Heavyweight boxing came back to Britain after a six year absence, following David Haye's majority decision victory over Russian Nikolai Valuev.The Hayemaker fought a tactical fight, earning himself a deserved majority victory over the 7ft Russian known as 'The Beast From The East'.
Haye had been Britain's first real chance in years to spark some life into an otherwise dull and withering Heavyweight division.
In recent years, Boxing's most glamorous fights could be found in the Welterweight and Middleweight divisions, with the sport's most famous division being surrendered to Eastern Europe, and most notably, the Klitschko brothers.
The former Undisputed Cruiserweight Champion maintained his confidence and belief in himself going into the fight, which would at times would be hard to maintain given the sheer size and stature of the man mountain, Valuev, who he would be facing.
Haye fought a tactical fight from the off and it was Valuev who came out looking to control the fight.
The Londoner was able to use his size and athleticism to his advantage as he ducked and dived away from Valuev's swinging fists, and landing some heavy shots of his own.
Valuev was rocked in the 2nd round of the fight after Haye landed a beautifully timed left hook.
The Brit suffered a suspected broken hand early on in the fight, landing a fierce right to Valuev's head, which could have done more damage to the thrower, rather than the recipient.
Haye continued to control an otherwise dull fight, and the punch stats will show that Haye fought a technical fight, avoiding many of the Russian's shots, and was never particularly in trouble throughout the 12 rounds.
Haye shocked Valuev again in the 9th round, landing a strong straight right hand, before sending the defending champion into a daze in the 12th round.
Valuev held on until the end of the fight, and looked tense in the corner as he awaited the decision.
Despite the fact that to most it may have already been apparent that Haye had won the fight, nothing could be left to chance.
A decision from the judges in Germany was not something many had banked on for Haye in this fight, believing that he would have to floor the giant russian, in order to win.
It was not until Michael Buffer's distinctive voice uttered the words, "From London, England" that a huge weight was lifted and the cloud disappeared from British Boxing, and Haye's dream realised.
Heavyweight Boxing slipped from Great Britain's grasp, 6 years earlier, to be taken over by a sudden dominance from Eastern Europe.
Despite earning a 6th round TKO victory this night against Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko, this was the last fight fans saw of Lennox Lewis in the squared circle, leaving Britain without a champion, or any real hope in the Heavyweight division.
The fight proved to be one that Lewis was lucky to win, after being awarded the stoppage due to a nasty cut over Klitschko's eye.
At the time of the stoppage however, Lewis was down on all three judge's scorecards, with the Ukrainian looking very much in control of the fight.
Lewis turned down the opportunity of a rematch, and retired from the sport to pursue other interests. Possibly the Klitschko fight had been a reality check for the former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion, as it appeared as though he could no longer dominate the division as he had done so in his prime.
Since this point, the Klitschko brothers', Vitali and Wladimir have dominated the Heavyweight division and until now British fans have had to rely on success in other divisions, with Ricky Hatton and Joe Calzaghe proving successful at Welterweight and Light Heavyweight respectively.
Despite this success, Britain has still longed for a challenger in Boxing's most glamorous and famous division of all...Heavyweight.
Since Lewis retired, others have tried, and others have failed in their attempt to storm the Heavyweight decision and steal the crown.
Fighters such as Danny Williams have fallen well short of the mark in their efforts.
After a victory against a 'hasbeen' Mike Tyson, Williams was handed a World Title opportunity against Lewis' heir, Vitali Klitschko, who disposed of Williams in the 8th round.
British fans never really got behind recent Heavyweight hopefuls, such as Williams or Audley Harrison, maybe due to a lack of faith, or a lack of charisma in the division.
Step forward... David Haye.
Haye had dominated the Cruiserweight division and after stepping up, managed an easy 5th round KO of Monty Barrett before seeking a title opportunity.
Having riled the Klistchko brothers already with his cocky and brash attitude, Haye has stated that he will be chasing the two again after defeating mandatory challenger, John Ruiz.
"I said I want to be unified champion and the Klitschkos are definitely in my sights. I am not fussed which one it is."
At 29 years of age, The Hayemaker has made no secret of the fact that he intends to end his career, which currently stands at a mere 23 fights, at the age of 31, leaving Haye 2-3 more years to truly dominate the division.
Having now proved himself at this level, the next challenge for Haye will be to prove that he can not only fight a tactical fight, but aim to fight more aggressively, like he has been known to at Cruiserweight.
Inevitably, we would see more of this from Haye were he to fight Ruiz, or the Klitschko's given more of a similarity in size.
With potentially 2-3 more years for Haye (given no abrupt upset to his career) Britain must now be on the lookout for more Heavyweight talent.
Hopefully Haye will look to inspire a new generation, with many looking to his success and looking to emulate it.
As it stands, Tyson Fury remains the only real British Heavyweight prospect, but at such an early stage in his career, it remains to be seen how the future looks for British Heavyweight Boxing.
