Wladimir vs. Haye Still On?

By Eric Thomas: According to Steve Bunce on his Boxing Hour show today, the fight between WBC/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and former cruiserweight champion David Haye is still planning on going ahead, and that the location has been switched to American, possibly either in Las Vegas, Nevada or New York. The two fighters have been deadlocked in negotiations for some time, apparently because of confusing demands made by Haye, his greediness as well as his unprofessionalism, according to Klitschko.com.

The change of location to America, if this turns out to be the case, would seem like a curious one, because David Haye is a virtual unknown in the U.S. and it would hardly seem worth the effort to make the fight in this location. Additionally, Wladimir is far from a popular fighter in the U.S., having a low fan base despite holding the IBF heavyweight title for the past three years.

Wladimir’s cautious, safety first style of fighting has had a lot to do with that, but so has his knockout losses to Corrie Sanders, Ross Puritty, Lamon Brewster and his fights against DaVarryl Williamson and Samuel Peter in which Wladimir was knocked down. Many boxing fans perceive Wladimir as having a weak chin, unable to take a hard shot without going down or getting knocked out.

The way that he’s fought at times against aggressive fighters, seeming to panic when attacked hard, has turned off many fans from showing interest in his fights. Haye, for his part, is still relatively unknown to Americans except for the diehard fans.

The one occasion where one of Haye’s fights was shown on television, his 5th round stoppage over Monte Barrett in November, Haye looked far from impressive. Barrett, a weak puncher, wobbled him a couple of times and had him on the canvas in the 5th. The referee ruled it a slip, yet Haye stayed down for an extended amount of time before getting up.

The fight would be better off to be made in either Germany, where Wladimir is a big deal, or England where Haye has many fans. Even if the fight needs to take place in smaller arena, it would probably be better off taking place there then in the U.S where the interest would probably be not there.

Haye, 28, has fought only twice as heavyweight since moving up from the cruiserweight division and has been positioned in front of a lot of talented heavyweights that have applied their craft for years only to see Haye thrust in front of them without proving himself.

11 Responses to “Wladimir vs. Haye Still On?”