David Haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko: Unification

By Shaun Mcnally: November 7th, David Haye shocks the world by picking up a decision win over World Boxing Association heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev. Before the fight (possibly after seeing the size of Valuev at the weigh in) Haye is now the underdog. But a disciplined display sees him land more eye-catching punches, and stay away from Valuev’s. After rocking his opponent in the 12th round, the final bell sounds and neither look 100% confident that they’ve done enough to take the belt home. Michael Buffer proclaims “the winner by majority decision…from London England”. Haye looks ecstatic.

Months have gone by and not much has been heard since about a possible show-down with either of the Klitschko brothers. There’s no doubt Haye wants it, there’s nothing to say he won’t generate enough interest, now he has the WBA title to negotiate with. No more ridiculous bargaining by the siblings who both occupy heavyweight titles. There’s no chance Haye will settle for his previous deal, which stated that should he beat Wladimir, there must be a rematch. No chance that the fight will have to be in Klitschko’s homeland. Whether you like him or not, David Haye is a world champion in his own right, and may be the only charismatic, exciting heavyweight on the planet. Maybe that’s unfair to Chris Arreola or Eddie Chambers, or other names. But the fact that the man ranked 9th in the heavyweight division is also known as “the boring man” says a lot about the division.

Speaking of which, David Haye must make the mandatory defence against John Ruiz, which will happen in London sometime in 2010. Ruiz, a decent boxer who has previously held the WBA belt will be looking for his shot at stardom, but David should have enough about him to surpass the challenge. There’s no prizes for guessing his next target. Finally there is a champion who doesn’t want to mess about and go for silly little fights, which can not be said for two brothers currently calling their selves the best in the division. If they are the champions they say they are, fight the best out there. Haye is the only other major fighter in the weight class (ranked number 3 by boxrec.com). No body wants to see Wladimir fight Arreloa or Vitali fight Eddie Chambers. Yes it is understandable the brothers don’t want to fight each other. To get in the ring with another man, you have to have the mentality that you want to knock them out. Brothers can’t do that…not unless you are familiar with Noel and Liam Gallagher. The Klitschko’s will never fight.

At this stage, Haye’s fans would rather see him fight Wladimir, who is considered the easier option (if there is one), possibly because of his questionable chin. Haye’s chin wasn’t really tested against Valuev or Monte Barrett, neither of who are the biggest heavyweight hitters. Wladimir will test Haye’s chin, but Haye will work Wladimir’s. If the fight happens and Klitschko wins, then the arguing can be stopped and the better man can walk away with a new title. But don’t say “I don’t want to talk about him”. It’s unfair on the fans. If you want to punish a fighter you don’t like, do it in the ring. If Klitschko is that confident Haye isn’t in his class, then show the world. So, who’s running scared now?

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