Haye says Bellew fight could happen

By Boxing News - 10/22/2016 - Comments

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By Scott Gilfoid: Despite being offered a shot to fight for the WBO heavyweight title against the winner of the December 10 fight between Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr., #4 WBO David Haye (28-2, 26 KOs) says he’s ready to fight WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew (28-2-1, 18 KOs) if he seriously wants to make the fight.

Bellew, 33, seems to be VERY SERIOUS about wanting to fight Haye, and you can understand why. Bellew will probably never be in a better position than he is right now after his two recent wins over BJ Flores and Ilunga Makabu.

Bellew hasn’t had to fight any of the talented cruiserweights yet, so he’s currently what many boxing fans see as a paper champion in holding down the WBC strap. However, if Bellew doesn’t get the Haye – or some other high payday match – soon, he’s going to have to face his #1 WBC mandatory challenger Mairis Briedis. That’s a fight that will likely see Bellew knocked out and dethroned. I hate to say it, but Briedis is too good for Bellew, and I suspect that he knows that himself.

As such, it’s important that Bellew take the fight with Haye NOW, because it’s unclear how much longer he has until the WBC forces him to fight Briedis. I think Bellew will not fight Brieidis in the first half of 2017 whether he gets the Haye fight or not. I see Bellew either being given another voluntary defense by the WBC or him taking a unification match. However, in the 2nd half of 2017, Bellew will definitely need to fight Brieidis, because the WBC will make that fight happen.

Haye said to skysports.com about him fighting Bellew:

“If he can sit down and think to himself ‘okay, I’ve got a shot at actually getting out of the ring in one piece against David Haye’. If he genuinely believes that, and his promoter believes it, then we could make something happen.”

I can understand it from Haye’s point of view why he might prefer to fight Bellew rather than fighting the winner of the Joseph Parker vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. fight. Let’s be real; Haye IS NOT going to beat Parker. The 24-year-old New Zealand fighter has too much power, too much youth and too much talent for Haye. Parker is also a TRUE heavyweight, and not a pumped up one like Haye. I think the overriding reason that Haye launched his comeback was to get a fight against Anthony Joshua, because it’s a fight that will give him a huge payday. Haye could then retire for three to four years off of that money.

Taking a fight against Bellew is pretty much the same thing as Haye fighting Mark De Mori or Arnold Gjergjai. In terms of heavyweights, Bellew is probably about as good as those two fighters are. If they were able to fight at cruiserweight like Bellew, they would be good enough to beat the likes of BJ Flores and Makabu. Of course, they clearly wouldn’t be good enough to beat the talents at cruiserweight like Oleksandr Usyk, but neither is Bellew in my view.