Will Haye avoid fighting Vitali Klitschko until he retires?
February 18th, 2010
By William Mackay: Recently, World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (39-2, 37 KO’s) said that he would retire at the end of 2010, after [hopefully] fighting WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (23-1, 21 KO’s). But I’m wondering whether the 29-year-old Haye will ever choose to fight Klitschko? Haye already had a chance to fight both Klitschko brothers and in both cases, Haye either came in lame at the starting line or pulled away because he was unhappy with the contract terms.
To be sure, you couldn’t blame Haye if he did sidestep around Klitschko and opt to fight some of the rather mediocre fighters in the top 15 in the WBA. As bad as some of these fighters are, Haye, in theory, could hold onto his title for many years to come and get out of the sport without suffering another loss.
But if Haye faces the older Klitschko brother, who would have a big four inch height advantage over the 6’3” Haye, then there’s an excellent chance that Haye would not only get beaten, but also knocked out in the process. So I couldn’t really blame Haye if he decides to wait Klitschko out until he retires, especially when many other top fighters in the lower weight classes are picking and choosing beatable opponents rather than taking risky fights.
Why should Haye be any different than the typical cherry pickers? Vital is quite vulnerable because of his advanced age. Even if he wants to stick around, he’s at an age now where we will surely start seeing an even more dramatic decrease in his hand speed than we saw in his last fight against unbeaten heavyweight contender Kevin Johnson in December. Klitschko looked as if he had lost some of his hand speed from his last fight only three months earlier in September.
But more importantly, Klitschko, with his history of injuries, could sustain a career-ending injury at any time now because of his age, and that would be the end of any hopes of a fight against Haye. As such, Klitschko can’t afford to wait beyond 2010 if he wants a competitive fight against Haye, and this puts the British fighter in a position of power.
Haye can easily go in another direction, saying that the contract terms weren’t to his liking and Klitschko would have little choice but to retire unless he wants to stick around and fight no-name heavyweights for another year or two, hoping that Haye will change his mind. But I have feeling that Haye never will. He can really milk his title for long time if he avoids fighting either of the Klitschko brothers.
The heavyweight division being as talent poor as it is, a fighter like Haye can really dominate the division as long as he stays away from the Klitschko brothers. They’re obviously too big for Haye to match up well against, and it would be almost a certain loss if he were to decide on fighting one or both of them.
Tags: 29 Responses to “Will Haye avoid fighting Vitali Klitschko until he retires?”
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You won’t be watching Haye fighting a Klitchko, He had 2 chances and wormed out both times….He’s just riff raff , he will be gone soon and we won’t have to listen to him or see him, wearing Elton Johns left over costumes.
when will haye ko both brothers m dying to see..
chris, he isnt in the heavyweight division yet, he hasnt fought anyone under 35 yet…we dont know what he can do and he has some ko’s but solis put barretts lights out in 2…valuev lost to a 47 year old holyfield…and never could punch and never had a great chin, barrett hurt him as well…..haye is cherry picking…if mormeck causes you to imitate a rubber chicken and it takes you that many punches for you to ko him, you aint got a chance with the big boys,,,,besides vlad didnt fight lewis and vald is probably faster than haye, vitali has always been slow, but is too big and strong for haye…doesnt the fake broken hand even bother you…
Sometimes I do question the accountability of these articles. There is no doubting that Haye against either brother would be a tough fight. He’s said himself that his chin is deemed suspect. It’s what makes David Haye the fighter interesting. As for Vlad, you only need look to his last encounter to see the man had no lateral movement and his punches were slow and laborious. Long gone is the fighter that lost to Lennox Lewis. Haye has footwork, power and speed. This will no doubt cause problems for a ponderous, ageing fighter. If Haye gets clocked though, then it’s lights out no dispute but given his pedigree he can’t be written off. As a silver medalist in the amateurs and undisputed Cruiserweight Champion, last held by Evander Holyfield, he has earned the right to be credited for his own merits. To call him a ‘Cherry Picker’ more concerned with keeping a title is proposterous. You need only look to his career not to mention his fighting style to appreciate he’s not the kind of character to shy away from a good dust up. His first loss was a fight against the much more seasoned, be it 40 yr old Carl Thompson. Not to mention going in against Alexander Gurov for the European title at an early stage of his career. Gurov was the much touted favourite at the time, only to be beaten by Haye in under 45 seconds. Then there’s Mormeck, who he fought away from home in France with an atmosphere most fighters would opt to avoid. He was then pressured by UK fight fans and the media to fight the then highly regarded Maccarineli. He did so and won emphatically. Bottom line, David Haye isn’t a Cherry picker his career is proof of this and without him whether you’re a fan of his or not, there’s no denying the Heavyweight division would be far less exciting without him.
hudson…i finally get it…i get it, the hysteria over haye….he is the great black hope…most boxing fans are from minorities….why didnt i see it to begin with. all the ridiculous posts about a heavyweight who has only fought one top 10 fighter and didnt look good….not as good as holyfield did at 47. how could i have been so blind.
ps bruno…haye has a rematch clause…pull something else out of your ass instead
you guys are groupies, just sleep with haye and get it over with….lewis fought vitali and has sparred with haye and said in ring magazine that haye has no chance against either k 00brother….vlad, to begin with punches harder and straighter than haye, and has the better chin, better technique and stamina…vlad had a stamina problem, accounting for 2 loses, he was tko’d once against a big puncher and kept getting up…its imagination that vlad will collapse from one flush shot….haye had trouble with cruiserweights whom vlad would swat like flies…
cant believe what you guys are imaging was in the haye contract…no one else, except don king wanting 60/40 has ever complained about their contracts..whereas haye has a history of lying…fake back injury…if it were real he would have provided evidence…a fake hand injury…there was no broken bone…no cast, no sign of it after fight excuses were over with…he is also, according to golden boy, planning to fight hopkins next, then valuev again…yeh hes quite the world beater…
Rob,you only get 2/100 points of your comment.Tua is on the way to be a champion of the world.Remember that,k?
Good
Haye is not afraid of the Klit brothers, if they don’t act like DIVAS and make ridiculouse demands then he will fight and beat them both.
Haye would make short work of Wladimir – KO by round 3. As soon as he lands flush it will be all over. Wouldn’t surprise me if it was a first round destruction!!
Vitali is obviously a more dangerous fight and the older brother has never been down before. However I honestly don’t think that he has been hit has hard as David Haye will hit him. Granted he took some big shots of Lennox Lewis but in my opinion Haye hits harder than Lewis. Tough fight but if Haye sticks to the game plan like he did against Valuev then I think he will knock out Vitali around the 8th round.
Haye has always fought the best, stop talking out of your behind.
He fought everyone who had titles at cruiserweight, and he will do the same at heavyweight.
I cant see haye being man enough to face the best.hes like amir khan in that way.
Haye will find anithing to get out of boxing eather of the ko klitcko brothers, haye is scared, all bull trash talk.Haye does not want a pizza face. Otherwise he would set up the fight now,not next year. He is a Pu$$y
Haye must fight Vitali thiers no ifs or buts about it, like many fans bored with the heavyweight division Haye has something to offer the Klitschko’s no one else could (A CHALLENGE). Haye will walk through Ruiz and once thats done a date with Vitali should be mandatory, if he says no then one would suspect Haye of ducking. Haye wouldn’t easily win the fight but its not a risky one either, against a 38 yr old Vitali who will be 39yrs old in july, Haye would be the younger, fitter, faster and more agile plu he has knockout power. Late August or early September I reckon for this fight, I predict a 9th round KO win for Haye.
no Hudson he is your hw blk. hope and there aint no hope , these 2 brothers are and will always be superior to haye or any other so called hope of yours.
If one were to take a gander at the highlight vids of vitali and wlad’s exploits, it looks like these two fellows have brutalized and put more big strapping black men into retirement than the american justice and social security system. Hayes will meet the same fate. I don’t see anybody on the horizon to challenge them, unless tua’s resurgeance is for real.
bruno you didn’t read the article to the end. Roach gave Haye a 1% chance against Vitali and a 3% chance aginst Wladimir.
Every champion has a rematch clause. especially if they dominated the division for years, that is completely normal.
Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe and etc all had rematch clauses when they where champions. Haye is ducking both Klitchkos and he will try to hold on to his belt without a fight for as long as he can.
The Hayemaker is going to K.O Wlad, who will be like a rabbit in the headlights, when a real fast, hardhitting heavyweight is in the ring, forcing his way through his fence of a jab. Both have got a weak chin, but Haye has superior speed and power.
Vitali if he fights like he did vs kevin johnson, maybe he should get out the game.
Haye didnt want to get involved in stupid contractual clauses at the klits mercy, went and bagged some h.w gold. threats to unify, fights gotta happen
klitschos are very good but theres been a very long time since the heavyweight division was competative. as for they would be champs in any era thats b.s, they would be 2nd rate if very great was in their era..
it came into public knowledge that haye broke off contract talks with vitali due to the stupid 5 fight rematch clause tha vitali wanted in case he lost his title.
there was nop rematch clause incase haye lost,vitali set himself up for the contract breakdown, he was either going to get 5 seperate chances to win back his title or he knew haye would walk away.
vitali and his camp knew exactly what they were doing.
haye has no intentions of dodging anyone,and he cant be blamed for taking out the easier fighters for their belts first either,making easy money in the process. he wont be the first and certainly wont be the last,many big names have done it in the past and nothing was said.
haye only downfall is the fact that he is BRITISH. had he been a US fighter the would have his name screamed from the rooftops and his name would be in the biggest and brightest lights possible.
other than Tua, who is there that can win a hweight title and hold it and also go toe to toe with the Klitchko’s ???
certainly no US fighters out there have the skillset nor the heart, and to date all this about Tua is hot air, until he steps his game up and fights a contender or someone on the brink they are all words.
and remeber Tua has no guarantees to win anything, all he has is power, and is well known to struggle against highly skilled well moving opponents.
there are only 4 fighters worth talking about in the division.W.Klit, V.Klit, Haye and Tua(if he gets his act together).
and the only ones who seem less than keen of facing certain fighters without cushioning are the Klitchko’s.
wouldnt shock me, he avoided him last summer why would i be surprised if he avoids him again?
Haye is a warrior and will leave nothing in the locker room when he takes on the Ks. He will give his soul, his heart and every ounce of passion to get over the line. He is the great HW hope.
haye is suck!! klitcho brother will knock him out easily. he is just talk big.
No haye wont Will, you dummy
I dont like scottish people and Andy Murray
haye nor tua wud beat either klitschko just dont see it happinin i also think that ppl underate the 2 brothers its not there fault theres not much talent there,both wud have been gr8 in any era..wud like 2 see haye v chagaev sumtime wud be a decent fight…
Haye has said on record his aim is to unify the division otherwise what is the point? The only thing that could stop it is Vitali. It is easy to make it look like you want to fight and then ask for too much money. Or to have a clause saying if i lose you must give me a rematch and then if i lose again you must fight my brother. Haye has no rematch clause with Ruiz. Vitali mustn’t have much faith in himself to have put those clauses into the contract that Haye wouldn’t sign. Even Roach has said the fight is winnable for Haye.
haye will beat both klitschko bros
100 agree but Haye don’t forget Tua is on the way to clear them out.
i like Haye, but if he wants to be taken seriously in the heavyweight division then he has to fight both Klitscho brothers. Anyone else agree?