Wladimir Klitschko To Fight Haye After Bout With Povetkin?

By Boxing News - 09/18/2008 - Comments

wladimir434257.jpgBy Aaron Klein: According to the Press Association, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions Richard Schaefer was informed that Wladimir Klitschko (51-3, 45 KOs) will accept a fight David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs). It appears that Klitschko may possibly be interested in fighting Haye soon, perhaps immediately following Wladimir’s next bout with former 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Alexander Povetkin (16-0, 12 KOs) on December 13th in Germany. For Haye, 27, it would have to be a dream come true, for he originally believed that it would take him awhile to arrive at a title shot, and that he would have to fight a few really good fighters before he would land a shot.

If Wladimir does decide on taking him on after Povetkin, it would be almost like winning the jackpot for Haye, because normally most fighters in the heavyweight division have to toil long and hard, beating a long of good fighters before getting an eventual title shot, yet Haye might possibly be getting one with only one fight under his belt as a heavyweight. Presently, Haye is still scrambling trying to come up with an opponent for his next fight on November 15th at the O2 arena.

Haye, who gave up his cruiserweight titles to try and fulfill his dream of becoming a heavyweight champion, had a possibly lined up with American heavyweight JD Chapman, only to have him back out on him and leave him without an opponent. Haye still hopes to try and persuade Chapman to take the fight, but it’s not sure whether that will happen.

Earlier today, former heavyweight champion Ray Mercer’s name was floated around the various internet boxing sites as a potential opponent for Haye, but he, too, might end up falling by the wayside like so many other potential opponents for Haye. At this point, whoever ends up being Haye’s eventual opponent, they might be a far short of a legitimate top level fighter due to Haye’s strict selection process.

Not much has been said about what Haye might do in the event that Wladimir is defeated by Povetkin. Haye, who has been calling Wladimir out for months in the media, might be left with a difficult decision to make if Povetkin ends up taking Wladimir’s titles. If Haye were to move ahead and fight Povetkin, who in a sense would be the new top guy in the heavyweight division, it might be a tough match-up for Haye given Povetkin’s sturdy chin and high volume work rate.

Povetkin would be almost a nightmare opponent for Haye, because he wouldn’t back down for a second and would go right at Haye, possibly tiring Haye in the process. Indeed, Povetkin often sets such a high pace, he wears out most of his opponents with his busy work rate and then takes them out in the later rounds. Unless Haye were somehow able to knock Povetkin out, this would be a very hard fight for the British fighter, and one that he might not be successful in.

If Povetkin were to remain standing for all full 12-rounds, it would be hard to see Haye as coming out on top in that one. I think because of this, and the fact that Povetkin isn’t quite as popular as Samuel Peter or Vitali Klitschko, Haye might be better off looking in that direction rather than facing Povetkin. Although Peter would also be an impossible opponent for Haye to knockout, he would still have a good chance of out-boxing him over the long haul and possibly getting a decision.

It would be a hard fight, because Peter would be coming at Haye hard for 12 rounds, and would likely knock him down multiple times, but Haye just possibly have enough boxing ability to beat Peter. As for a fight against Vitali Klitschko, I would give Haye zero chance of beating him. Vitali would be un-phased by Haye’s punches and would eventually catch up to him and take him out with a big right hand.



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