By Matt Stein: David Haye must be in the dumps right now after losing out on a title shot against IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko after David injured his back recently in training. The injury has caused Wladimir to look elsewhere for an opponent, recently selecting Ruslan Chagaev to step in for Haye as the replacement opponent on June 20th at the Veltins Arena, in Gelsengirchen, Germany.

And what can Haye do? Well, for starters it would be nice if Haye finally got busy and fought some good heavyweights for a change so that when the Klitschko fight comes up later on next year, Haye will have at least resume that shows that he’s got experience at the heavyweight level against top notch heavyweights rather than obscure ones or journeyman.

Haye could take the option of fighting 2nd tier heavyweights or fighters from the UK, and use an excuse that he’s trying to stay popular in his own country by fighting their heavyweights, which for the most part aren’t very good. Haye could get away with it without taking a lot of criticism from his home country of England, because they’ll back him regardless of whom he fights.

I can’t say the same thing about the rest of the boxing world, who will no doubt very much care if Haye decides to stay busy by fighting strictly bums. But if Haye wants to “become a legend” like he says he wants to, then fighting heavyweights that have little talent won’t further his cause about becoming the new generation of heavyweight.

Haye will have to be the exciting heavyweight that he often talks about himself being by fighting heavyweights that have some ability. It’s obviously a risky thing for Haye to do, but if Haye can’t beat the top 15 heavyweights below Wladimir, then he really has no business challenging for a title anyway.

The sooner Haye finds that out the better. At worst, Haye gets knocked out by heavyweight like Tony Thompson and has to start all over again. Since Haye has mentioned that he wants to retire by the age of 30, I would assume that he would want to move back down to the cruiserweight division to try to recapture his titles down there.

It won’t be easy now, because the cruiserweights have gotten a lot better since Haye suddenly left the division a year ago, but at least there’s a chance that Haye could win a title or two. Getting beaten by a heavyweight other than Wladimir would mean that Haye would have to take some time to work his way back into a title shot.

But never the less, Haye has to fight a couple of good heavyweights before he fights Wladimir next year. I would suggest Haye try to fight at least two of the following fighters from this list before trying to get in the ring with Wladimir:

Chris Arreola
Alexander Dimitrenko
Tony Thompson
Alexander Povetkin
Samuel Peter
Eddie Chambers
Juan Carlos Gomez
Kevin Johnson

The chances of Haye beating even one of them would seem unlikely given Haye’s past mediocre opposition and weak chin, but you never know. If Haye can beat at least two of these fighters, it would help establish his credibility before he lands a fight with Wladimir next year. Right now, Haye is going basically on his past record as a cruiserweight and nothing beyond that.

This is why it’s important that Haye not hide out in the next year while waiting for Wladimir, because this is his chance to actually prove that he belongs in the ring with Wladimir and not someone who was given a gift chance because he talked his way into the fight.

Frankly, I doubt Haye will fight any of these fighters. Instead, I see Haye combing the 2nd and 3rd tier heavyweights, looking for beatable fighters and choosing a couple of them that he can knockout in the 1st or 2nd rounds. His fans will love it most likely and won’t wonder why he’s handpicking opponents instead of seeking out some real challenges like the above fighters.