By David Lahr: With heavyweight David Haye’s recent boost to the number #3 spot in the World Boxing Organization and # 5 in the World Boxing Council rankings, is he still going to as he says fight a top heavyweight in his next fight? Something tells me that’s not in the cards anymore, because why should he? He’s already ranked high and doesn’t need to take a risky battle against one of the top heavyweights and thus ruin a potential big money bout against either IBF/WBO heavyweight champion or the winner of the WBC heavyweight contest between current champion Samuel Peter and champion emeritus Vitali Klitschko.

Indeed, Haye is in the perfect position where he can fight just about anyone and still end up facing one of the two most popular heavyweights in the division. That’s not to say that it will be personally good for him to fight a low quality fighter, since he won’t get much from fighting a scrub and will be that much over his head when he has to step in the ring with someone as big and powerful as one of the Klitschko brothers or Peter. Haye’s chin is known for being someone brittle, which puts him in kind of a predicament. If he goes ahead with his promise of fighting a top 10 heavyweight, there’s a good chance he might end up losing unless he chooses very carefully.

Most of the top 10 heavyweights can really crack, and the ones with moderate power, like Monte Barrett, Haye has already said that he doesn’t want to fight because he doesn’t have a big enough name. Up and coming American fighter Chris Arreola would be a perfect option for Haye. Not only does Arreola have the size and power that Haye is looking for in an opponent to partially mimic what he’d be getting against one of the Klitschko brothers, but also Arreola has a good reputation among boxing fans. However, Arreola can really punch and has an excellent chin. This isn’t one of the cruiserweight stiffs that Haye has been fighting most of his career and can count on for taking out in a round or two.

Arreola will take Haye’s best shots and fire back with his own artillery and if Haye’s chin isn’t up to the mark – which I have grave concerns about – then Haye may be visiting the canvas for another loss like the one he experienced against grizzled veteran Carl Thompson four years ago in 2004. Number # 1 ranked WBO heavyweight contender Alexander Dimitrenko, a 6’7″ heavyweight from Ukraine, would also be an excellent choice for Haye. Dimitrenko has a fighting style much like Wladimir Klitschko, only with a little less power and better boxing ability.

Dimitrenko can do a lot of things in the ring, fight inside and outside with equal ability and he moves extraordinarily well for a heavyweight with his kind of size. Haye couldn’t go wrong with a fight against Dimitrenko. It would be a tough fight no doubt, because Dimitrenko has a solid jab and he knows how to use his height and reach to his advantage. He’s not much of a puncher, a factor that would keep Haye in the fight, but if he can land one of his powerful uppercuts, Haye will be visiting the canvas for the night.

He would be probably the best opponent for Haye to fight, because he doesn’t have the huge power or the heavy pressure like Arreola, and it would be interesting while it lasted. However, it would be a huge step up for Haye, who last fought against the slender Enzo Maccarinelli in March. Dimitrenko would probably be too much of a jump up in competition if you ask me, but Haye sure would be raising some eyebrows if he were bold enough to take on a fighter like him or Arreola.