Haye: “My Fight Against Vitali, or Wladimir, Will Happen” – News

By Scott Gilfoid: In an interview with The Mirror, heavyweight contender David Haye (22-1, 21 KO’s) came off as his usual cocky self, saying “My fight against Vitali [Klitschko], or Wladimir, will happen. But it’s going to be a unification fight instead of me having to fight him as a slave fighter.” Haye, 28, is talking about him having to sign a contract that was not of his liking in which he would have had to give rematches to the Klitschko brothers if he had been able to beat either one of them.

What Haye fails to realize about it is that his chances of success against either of them were extremely remote, meaning that there really wasn’t much of a chance that he’d have to worry about fighting a rematch with them. I can certainly his worry if he was signing a contact like that against one of his typical opponents in the past, like heavyweights Monte Barrett or Tomasz Bonin, but the Klitschko brothers represent a much higher form of fighter than Haye’s previous opponents, so there was no point in him fearing signing a contract with a rematch clause that would never apply in his case.

And even if it did, Haye would be much better off facing the Klitschko brothers in consecutive fights than other heavyweights, don’t you think? Who else would Haye have made a bundle fighting if not for the Klitschko brothers? Was he going to turn around and fight Kevin Johnson, Odlanier Solis or Eddie Chambers and make a ton of money? Who is he kidding?

The rematch clause was a good thing for Haye, even if he was blind to seeing that. If not for a rematch clause, Haye would then march out with a title – if he was lucky enough to beat Vitali or Wladimir in the first place – and then get taken out by Johnson or Solis immediately. Solis already stopped Haye as an amateur, and it’s not hard to imagine him doing it again.

“I can go to the table as a world champion. The next time they [the Klitschko brothers] deal with me, they have to deal with me with a bit of respect.” Haye sounds more than a little misguided here, and a lot like he has a major chip on his shoulder. Dude, get over it. The Klitschko brothers have been champions off and on for years, what do you expect to get when negotiating with them? Did you expect parity? For what? Because you once held onto the World Boxing Association/WBC/WBO cruiserweight titles for a half a year or so. Big deal. Who did you beat? Enzo Maccarinelli and Jean Marc Mormeck to win the titles.

How can either of those fighters compare to facing the Klitschko brothers? Wins over an old, short Mormeck and a glass jawed Maccarinelli doesn’t put you in the class where you can negotiate with the Klitschko brothers on even terms. Haye was moving up to the heavyweight division where he was starting all over again as a newbie.

The sanctioning bodies did Haye a huge favor by ranking him above other heavyweight contenders like Alexander Povetkin, Chris Arreola, Odlanier Solis and Kevin Johnson, despite Haye only having fought against an old 38-year-old Monte Barrett and the virtually unknown Bonin. In truth, I think Haye should have been nowhere near the top five and more like top 20, at best.

Haye should have at least proven that he belonged at the top by beating Solis, Johnson, Eddie Chambers or Povetkin before being pushed up to the number #3 spot in the World Boxing Organization. Haye was given an total gift by the sanctioning bodies by being ranked so highly, and he expected to have a better deal with either of the Klitschko brothers without rematch clauses?

That’s a weird way of thinking. Rematch clauses are a part of the sport, but like I said, the chances of it ever coming into effect was almost zero because Haye would haven likely been knocked out in the first or second round against either Klitschko.

Haye is right about one thing. The Klitschko brothers will to give him a better deal if Haye can beat WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev on November 7th. But Haye will be knocked out just the same by either Klitschko brother. That will put Haye back into the heavyweight pack where he’ll have to scratch and claw his way to the top against the likes of Solis, Johnson, and Chambers.

15 Responses to “Haye: “My Fight Against Vitali, or Wladimir, Will Happen” – News”