Booth: “We’re [Haye] not considering anything or any opponents at the moment”

By William Mackay: Adam Booth, the trainer/manager for World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) says that they’re not interested in fighting former WBO heavyweight champion Shannon Briggs. Earlier this week, Briggs sent out a press release to a number of boxing websites, advising Haye not to fight IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and to fight him instead. However, not only is Booth saying that they’re not interested in fighting Briggs, but he also had this to say in an article at the Telegraph: “We’re not considering anything or any opponents at the moment – none whatsoever. We want to let everything settle. The last year was quite busy with negotiations for four world title fights, two of which have taken place, and David is now going to take a well earned rest.”

It’s not surprising, really, that Booth and Haye aren’t interested in fighting Briggs. The 38-year-old former champion hits really hard and wouldn’t be worth the risk for the shaky-chinned Haye to fight. However, it is surprising that Booth isn’t mentioning Wladimir Klitschko as the next fight for Haye. Is Haye going to milk his WBA title like many people think he will be doing?

Haye would have a much easier time fighting the winner of the WBA eliminator match between Ruslan Chagaev and Kali Meehan. Haye would have a decent chance of winning that might as long as neither of them connect with a solid punch. But if Haye fights Wladimir next, there’s an excellent chance that Haye will say goodbye to his WBA title and will have to fall back into the heavyweight pack to fight amongst the contenders.

Haye, by virtue of his gift for gab, was sparred with the troublesome burden of having to fight his way into a title shot against WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev last year when Haye fought the 7-foot Russian for the heavyweight title. However, if Haye gets destroyed by Wladimir, he would likely have to beat a top contender or two to become the mandatory challenger for Wladimir or his bother Vitali Klitschko.

If that meant that Haye would only have to fight a 38-year-old like John Ruiz, I would say it was no problem for the British heavyweight. However, in this case Haye would have to beat someone like Samuel Peter, Alexander Povetkin or Odlanier Solis. Frankly, I don’t think Haye can beat any of those guys. This is why I think Haye will choose to milk his title for as long as possible before taking the plunge in what would likely be Haye’s last fight of his career. I see Haye retiring after a loss to Wladimir rather than sticking around and having to fight his way back into another title shot.