By Sean McDaniel: Well, it’s looking more and more like the heavy-handed negotiating tactics by the Klitschko management are partly to blame for former cruiserweight champion David Haye pulling out of the September 12th fight with World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko.

Although to hear the Klitschko side of the argument, they’d have you believe that Haye committed a crime by pulling out of the negotiation process and fighting a better deal elsewhere with WBA heavyweight champion seven foot Nikolay Valuev.

Haye, 28, didn’t like the contact that Klitschko and his manager Bernd Boente were serving up to him, so he moved on. The Klitschkos felt that they deserved to be informed about Haye’s decision in a phone call or an e-mail from him in the least, but Haye wasn’t having any of it, feeling “Disrespect” from the Klitschko’s during the time negotiating.

“It would have been selling my soul to the devil. I will not be a slave fighter,” Haye said, referring to the contract that the Klitschko management wanted him to sign. While nothing was laid out as to what the terms of the contact was, you can guess that it probably contained a much smaller cut of the revenue plus a rematch clause of two to three fights.

If the contact was like the previous one with Wladimir Klitschko, Haye would have been tied down fighting the Klitschko brothers for ages if he had somehow beaten Vitali. Haye said that the Vitali contact was pretty much identical to the one he had with Wladimir. Haye wasn’t happy with that contract, so it’s no wonder why he decided to go elsewhere.

“Once I have snatched Valuev’s title, I will be happy to battle out heavyweight supremacy with the Klitschkos, but only on equal and fair terms,” Haye said.

Haye is counting on getting equal negotiating rights with the Klitschkos if he can beat Valuev. Without a title, Haye is in a weak position to bargain with either of the Klitschko brothers, but that would likely change if he can defeat Valuev and grab his title.

Boente says that there is almost “zero chance” that the Klitschko brothers will attempt to fight Haye for a third time. But seriously doubt that. Right now, the Klitschko team are hurt, licking their wounds and upset about Haye’s pull out from the fight. But being grown ups, and realizing these kinds of things happen, they’ll probably come around by the time that Haye fights Valuev.

If Vitali and Wladimir decide to sulk and show childish behavior by not seeking out a fight with Haye should he defeat Valuev, they’d only be shooting themselves in the foot, because there really isn’t another heavyweight in the division that can drum excitement the way that Haye can.

This really is the only chance that either Klitschko brother has in getting a big paying fight. There isn’t anyone else out there right now, so either they suck in their pride and agree to negotiate with Haye or they can be satisfied with getting the smaller money defending their titles against much less stars in the boxing world.