By Chris Williams: Recently, I saw some video of Wladimir Klitschko’s trainer Emanuel Steward being extra kind to David Haye, telling him how much he likes the t-shirt that Haye put together of him holding the decapitated heads of Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, and telling him that he’s good for Wladimir because the Ukrainian fights better when fighters are coming straight at him trying to knock him out. I wonder what’s gotten into Steward for him to act like that with Haye.
The t-shirt certainly didn’t please Wladimir, who was furious about it and complained long and hard for anyone that wanted to listen to him at his press conferences. So what’s the deal with Steward? Haye was trying hard to intimidate Steward, putting his arm around Steward and telling him that he doesn’t care what Wladimir does as long as he comes out trying to slug with him.
Steward seemed to go to jelly, saying ‘don’t talk like that, you’re scaring me.’ Haye then walked away with a cocky look on his face as if he had just punked Steward. First off, I wouldn’t have let Haye put his arm around me. Steward should have shoved him away and told him to take his act somewhere else.
And secondly, rewarding Haye for wearing a t-shirt like that seems to be the wrong thing to do, because it sends a message that Steward is okay with him doing those kinds of things with his fighter. I’m sure Steward has seen this kind of behavior from a fighter before, but maybe not.
Usually, fighters are pretty laid back for the most part. They might do some trash talking but they’re not as lizard like with Haye, who seems to plan out all his moves before his press conferences as if they’re plays. It seems that Wladimir and Steward need to fire back with their own game of psychological warfare to even the score, because it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
There’s still five weeks to go before the fight and you can bet that Haye is going to try and up the gamesmanship as the fight gets closer and closer. He’s normally not nearly as manic as he’s been before other bouts, but then again Haye has taken on much lesser opponents in the past with a lot less money on the line than what he will be getting in his fight with Wladimir.
If Haye beats Klitschko on June 20th, in Germany, then it will make Haye a super star in Britain and open him up for all kinds of endorsement deals where he will make a killing. It would last only as long as he’s able to hold onto the title, which probably won’t be for than one fight because Haye would be facing Vitali Klitschko next, and that’s a fight that Haye physically doesn’t have the tools to win.
At any rate, it looks as if Steward must have a trick up his sleeves that he’s using on Haye, because I can’t see him stroking that guy’s ego for nothing. The last thing that Haye needs is another person kissing his backside while he’s bragging about how he’s going to do this or that to Wladimir.
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