Boxing: Haye hints at bright future by crushing Williams

David Haye required less than three rounds to stop the former world champion Arthur Williams last night in Reading. It was not the result that anybody predicted in what was, on paper, a dangerous fight for Haye to accept.

David Haye required less than three rounds to stop the former world champion Arthur Williams last night in Reading. It was not the result that anybody predicted in what was, on paper, a dangerous fight for Haye to accept.

Williams entered the ring with a justifiable reputation for durability but last night he did not stand a chance against the lightning fast fists of Haye and the referee's intervention was a welcome relief.

Haye never put a foot wrong or threw a wayward punch during a short display that was often shocking to watch. Haye summed up his performance perfectly when he claimed that this felt like his first real fight and that his previous nine stoppages had just been warm-ups.

Last night Haye finally showed the quality that he has been promising since his glorious amateur career came to an end and he picked the perfect night to shine.

When it was over and Williams had had the grazes and small cuts on his face tended to, he sought out Haye to compliment him on his performance. "I honestly thought that this would an easy night's work but I got that wrong and now I think that Haye is a real star for the future," Williams said.

The plan now for Haye is to continue meeting fighters at this level and not to return to the tried and tested methods of simple fights for protected boxers that at present is starting to dominate and ruin the sport.

In an earlier fight, and in theory the main event, Esham Pickering was simply too determined for Spain's Juan Garcia Martin and retained his European super-bantamweight title in round eight.

Pickering was in control from the start and it was obvious that the Spaniard was looking for a way out before he suffered an injury to his left arm and turned away in agony.