By Calvin Betton: Although both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko seem like extremely decent men when in public, it is becoming increasingly clear that when negotiating fights, their negotiating tactics are far from decent in my view.
In the wake of rumors that Juan Carlos Gomez was on the verge of pulling out of his fight with Vitali because of an extremely small ring, one must ask if this is the latest in a recent long line of incidents with roots emanating from K2 Promotions in order to give the Klitschkos an unfair advantage.
Although much of the blame for the lack of a deal between himself and Wladimir has fallen on David Haye, we must ask serious questions about what it is reported that K2 is demanding.
It is understood that should Haye defeat Wladimir, he must then fight Vitali in his next fight, as well as immediately giving up the title that he may win off Wladimir. Should he then defeat Vitali, there is a rematch clause for a fight with Wladimir, again, Haye giving up the titles he may win off Vitali. As the Klitschkos will never fight each other, they do not want a situation where one of them holds all the belts; hence Haye having to give up the belts should he win. We could therefore have a situation where 12 months from now Haye has defeated both Klitschkos and lost to neither, but they still hold all their current titles! Surely this is crazy and is a major concern for the governing bodies.
It must be said that both Klitschkos are extremely skilled fighters and Haye would be a heavy underdog to either, but the question needs to be asked as to whether this sort of deal is put in place for every fight that either Klitschko takes.
If so, and given that both are outstanding fighters, it makes it almost impossible for any other heavyweight fighter to get a look in. Should anyone be good enough to beat one of them once, he then has his next 3 fights tied up taking them on, and the odds on anyone beating both of them all 3 times over 3 fights are very, very slim.
Boxing is a sport of risk and titles, and by using these negotiating tactics, the risk of losing the titles is taken out, and therefore so is the drama of the sport. Even if they lose, they are almost guaranteed to have the title back within months.
Something needs to be done sooner rather than later in order to bring back some respectability to the Heavyweight division.
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