By Scott Gilfoid: David Haye is talking about the mega fight between IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko being done with their negotiations. Just how Haye would know is the big question. Hopefully, Haye isn’t jumping the gun just so that he can get attention to himself. That would utterly sad. The fight IS expected to be made this week, according to Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn.
”Great to hear Joshua-Klitschko is done. Timing is everything & the time now is perfect for AJ.🇬🇧 Reminds me of Ali 👴🏾Vs Berbick #FatherTime,” said Haye on his social media site.
Hearn isn’t saying that the Joshua vs. Klitschko fight is done, so I have to assume that Haye is just blabbering without knowing the real details. Honestly, I can’t see the Joshua-Klitschko fight getting done until the World Boxing Association strips heavyweight champion Tyson Fury of his WBA strap.
It doesn’t make sense at all for the 40-year-old Wladimir to sign for a fight against the 26-year-old Joshua unless the WBA title has been stripped from Fury. Without the WBA title being on the line, Wladimir isn’t going to waste his time fighting Joshua. Wladimir wants more than one strap to be up for grabs for his mini-mega fight against Joshua. Fighting for just Joshua’s International Boxing Federation strap won’t be enough.
I’d really like to believe the news from Haye about the Joshua-Klitschko fight being done, but it’s crazy stuff. Why in the world would Wladimir take the fight now without the titles being stripped from Tyson Fury. It doesn’t make sense at all. I wouldn’t do it. Unless I knew for a fact that both of Fury’s titles were stripped from him and up for grabs for the Klitschko vs. Joshua fight, I wouldn’t ever agree to take the fight. Besides that, I wouldn’t put my John Hancock on the contract unless the fight were staged elsewhere like Germany, Austria, Ukraine or the U.S. In other words, a nice neutral country. I’m just saying. Why would Wladimir want to fight in front of a large horde of Joshua fans in the UK? Every punch that Joshua lands will be cheered loudly by his fans. Wladimir’s punches likely won’t get a peep out of the crowd. If the judges aren’t able to watch a fight without getting cues from the audience, then Wladimir is going to be up the creek without a paddle. I mean, Wladimir is not a young lion any longer. He’s not going to be able to rebuild after losing a controversial decision to Joshua in the same way that Joshua could if he was on the receiving end of a controversial decision in Germany or Ukraine. That’s why I think the fight should take place whereever Wladimir wants it to, not where Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn want it. They need Wladimir’s name. He doesn’t need Joshua’s name, because he’s not well known in the U.S or in Germany like he is in the UK. Why make it easy on the younger fighter if you’re the star?
Wladimir will likely need at least TWO titles, if not three. The World Boxing Organization still hasn’t made a decision yet on Fury’s situation. They’ve given him 10 days to show cause for why they shouldn’t strip him of his WBO belt. If the Klitschko vs. Joshua fight can have BOTH of Fury’s titles on the line for the fight, it would make it a much bigger fight in the eyes of the boxing public. The only title not in the possession of the winner of the Joshua-Klitschko fight would be the WBC belt, which is currently held by the talented Deontay Wilder.
Hearn was saying on Monday that the Joshua vs. Klitschko fight could take place in December rather than November, because it would mean more time before the fight. Those are going to need time to train, and Hearn will need to market the fight. The fight will be taking place in the UK, which you can argue will put Wladimir in a tough position where he might need a knockout to get the win. After seeing the scoring for the Gennady Golovkin vs. Kell Brook and the Ricky Burns vs. Kiryl Relikh fights in the UK, I think it could be very, very tough on Wladimir to try and win a decision. He might want to dig his feet into the sand and tell Hearn that the fight needs/must take place in a neutral country like the United States.
At least that way Wladimir won’t have to go looking for a knockout on the night just so he doesn’t find himself on the receiving end of a controversial decision. You always hope that the judges are seeing the fight clearly, but after seeing the dreadful scoring for the Golovkin-Brook and Burns-Relikh fights that took place in the UK, I think it would be in Wladimir’s best interest to have the fight take place in some other country.