By Eric Thomas: British cruiserweight David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) continued his dogged pursuit of a title match with IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) in a recent press release, bragging about weighing 232 lbs, a comment made to let Klitschko know that the former cruiserweight Haye was plenty big enough to compete with him in a heavyweight clash. When Haye confronted Wladimir not too long ago at one of his charity events, Haye was told to “gain some weight” and “get in line” behind the other heavyweights that are waiting for a title shot against Wladimir.

Haye has since gotten in line and has been vaulted to a ridiculously lofty #5 ranking in the WBC, all without having fought a fight at heavyweight in over 15 months, although that still doesn’t put him in line for a shot against Klitschko, who currently holds the IBF and WBO titles, not the WBC. Haye, 27, hasn’t announced who his next opponent will be, likely to take place in November, but it could possibly be former WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman. And, though Haye has been proudly spouting off about his progress on gaining weight to fill out to heavyweight form, its unclear how well he’ll do when absorbing punishment from a hard-hitting heavyweight like Rahman.

Indeed, Rahman may be a really bad choice for Haye, because he still has excellent endurance, holds his power well late in his bouts, and has a powerful right hand. Even if Haye was able to use his superior boxing skills and speed to stay away from him early in the fight, Rahman will catch up to his sooner or later to test his chin, and if it’s not up to the task, as what’s been shown to be the case on several occasions in Haye’s career, Rahman will put him down.

The difference here is, however, that Rahman is a good finisher once he gets an opponent in trouble. For that reason, I doubt Haye will carry out a fight against Rahman, who would be huge step up from the small, slender cruiserweights that Haye has been accustomed to dominating thus far in his boxing career.

As far as Klitschko goes, Haye still feels that his athleticism, speed and movement will be enough for him to overcome Wladimir’s three inch and 15 lb height and weight advantage. Haye isn’t impressed with Wladimir’s jab, which he describes as “limp-wristed.” This is rather surprising, however, because Klitschko has always been noted for having one of the best, if not the best, jab in the entire heavyweight division.

Of course, Wladimir doesn’t always throw it hard at all times, sometimes using it more as a measuring tool or his right hand, and other times as a technique to keep his opponents on the outside by just touching them with it. When he does choose to throw it hard, his jab is clearly better than what I’ve seen from Haye. In point of fact, Wladimir can dominate a fight entirely with his left jab alone, something which he’s taken a lot of criticism for in his fights with Sultan Ibragimov, his second fight with Lamon Brewster and parts of his fight with Ray Austin.

For some reason, Haye seems almost fixated on Wladimir in a way that appears to go beyond just wanting to compete against him. He has a strange look in his eyes every time he brings him up, which if you listen to any of his interviews, is almost constantly, like an obsession. I think deep down, Haye admires Wladimir more than a little, much more than he lets on, and would like perhaps to be as good as him one day. In a way, he’s like a smaller version of Wladimir. He has the same incredible power, yet the same weakness for getting hurt.

Both fighters have a sense of drama about them each time they enter the ring, and you just never know whether they will come out on top or their opponent, regardless of their superior power. Haye, as far as I can tell, seems more like a lovesick fan than someone that just wants to fight Wladimir. In the end, if Haye is successful in beating a good heavyweight or two, he may just get his wish and get his chance to meet with Wladimir up close and personal.

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