By Liam Fitzgerald: New World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye is one of those boxers who completely split the public, some hating him and others loving him. The main reason for this is his brash attitude and trash talking before fights which draw plenty of criticism.

I can understand why some people dislike him and his attitude but for me some of the criticisms levelled at him are just ridiculous. Firstly, for those saying that Haye didn’t deserve a title shot and that he should get nowhere near the Klitschko’s, why not? If you consider the other heavyweight “contenders” out there who have recently challenged the Klitschko’s, Haye has as much right, if not more, to get in the ring with the brothers. Vitali’s last two opponents, Chris Arreola and Kevin Johnson, are extremely limited fighters who had done nothing to merit a title shot. Let’s face it, they were there because they were American and Vitali wanted to broaden his appeal there. It was no surprise that Vitali comfortably won both fights. Wladimir is much the same. Hasim Rahman and Tony Thompson were not in his class and that was clear to see. Only Ruslan Chagaev truly merited a shot at the brothers in this time, mainly as he was WBA champ, exactly like Haye.

Next, the huge amount of criticism that Haye received for the way in which he took Nikolai Valuev’s title is very unfair. He used back foot tactics to great effect against a man with huge height and weight advantage over him. This is not his usual style, as all Haye followers out there know, and to win a world title like this, with a damaged right hand as well, was a great achievement.

Haye’s normal explosive style is thrilling to watch and I would expect him to adopt this against John Ruiz. True he can be a bit erratic at times but he is a deadly KO artist who always looks to excite. For this reason alone he deserves a shot at either Vitali or Wladimir because he will at least make it competitive, not like the other dross they have fought recently. Don’t forget either that Haye was the Undisputed Cruiserweight World champion and though it isn’t the strongest division, Haye still beat the best out there which is all he could do. Just because he’s only had a few fights at heavyweight, it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t fight for world titles. He has proved his world class credentials at a lower weight, just like most fighters who are world champs and move up in weight to challenge other belt holders. This is normal in boxing and if anyone should receive criticism for an undeserved title shot, then Amir Khan should as well, having never fought at light welterweight before and not even being a world champion before the Kotelnik fight.

Fortunately, it looks like Haye will fight Vitali Klitschko next year at some time and this is definitely the fight he should be looking to take first in my opinion. Vitali is starting to show signs of aging now and looked poor against Johnson, even though Johnson was mainly responsible for this with his ultra-negative tactics. Klitschko did what he and his brother always do which is to get the job done. Fair enough, it is effective but to be honest it’s very boring and that is why Haye is a breath of fresh air because he is so different. He is very quick and powerful and I believe this would be Vitali’s undoing. Vitali has so much success because his opponents are intimidated by him and allow him to set the pace. And when this happens it is very hard to turn the fight around against him. However, Haye would not be intimidated and his hand speed and power would cause his problems all night for Vitali who has a poor defence and couldn’t avoid being hit. He is no longer the same fighter and I feel this will show even more in his next fights so Haye has to fight him soon to make sure that if he beats him, his win is still credible. I genuinely think Haye has what it takes to beat Vitali as long as he crucially sets the pace and dominates early.

If Haye were to win vs. Vitali, he would surely then get the chance to fight Wladimir. This fight would provide a lot more difficulties in my opinion. Wladimir has the best jab in world boxing today and is highly effective in using it to control a fight, only throwing straight right hands behind it. His long reach makes it very difficult to get inside and this is worrying for Haye who has shown that his work can become erratic when he gets a bit desperate. However, Vladimir has a weaker chin than his brother and Haye’s powerful right hands have more chance of dropping him than with Vitali so Haye really does have a chance vs. the IBF and WBO champion as well.

David Haye is a worthy champion and is bringing some excitement back to the division that the Klitschko’s have drained away. He’s a heavy puncher who looks for the KO and will at least make a fight competitive against the Klitschko’s, something their recent opponents haven’t at all. I think he will do more than just that as well and beat them both.