By Jim Dower: If World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye (23-1, 21 KO’s) has his way, he could be facing one of the Klitschko brothers in the Middle East next. According to AP, Haye has already started discussions for having a unification bout against one of the Klitschko brothers – Vitali or Wladimir – take place in the Middle East. Haye says “It’s something we have talked about with Adam Booth [Haye’s trainer/manager]. There has not been a big title fight in the Middle East. A heavyweight title fight is the biggest you can get. It would be huge for putting Abu Dhabi on the map.“

It’s unclear whether the Klitschko brothers would be on board for something like this because it would be a gamble by staging a unification bout in a location that doesn’t normally have heavyweight title fights. The Klitschkos could easily put a Haye-Klitschko fight in one of the huge 61,000 stadiums in Germany and sell it out completely.

Would a fight between the Klitschko brothers and Haye be a huge seller in the Middle East? It might also be a hardship for the fans of the Klitschko brothers and Haye to have to take the trouble and expense of having to fly all the way to the Middle East to watch the fight. Without these fans, a fight between Haye and one of the Klitschko brothers might not bring in enough fans for it to be a sellout.

Haye mentions the Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman bout, which took place in the Mai 20 Stadium in Zaire, in October 1974 as an example of success. However, there were different variables involved in that fight. Ali was a huge star in that region at the time and already had a huge fan base. Also, the Mai 20 Stadium only held 30,000 fans, which pales compared to the 61,000 seat Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen, in Germany. If Haye and one of the Klitschko brothers decide to take the fight to the Middle East, it could wind up potentially as a major failure if fans don’t show up for this fight.

Before Haye and the Klitschko brothers meet up, Haye will have to find a way to beat John Ruiz this Saturday night at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester, England. Haye sees the fight as an easier one than his last bout against 7-foot Nikolay Valuev, but that remains to be seen. Haye didn’t look good against Valuev, which amounted to being a huge step up in competition for Haye, and it’s still unknown whether Haye has the ability to dominate at the heavyweight level. Haye talks as if he’s still a dominating force, but he hasn’t shown it yet as a heavyweight.

Ruiz was less than impressed with Haye’s performance against Valuev last time out, and felt that the British fans helped sway the judges in that fight. Ruiz believes that Valuev should have come out the winner in that fight. Ruiz has twice been defeated by Valuev by narrow margins in Germany. However, he’s pleased that he’s fighting Haye instead of Valuev, because he believes Haye will be a much easier fight for him compared to the taller Valuev.