By Eric Thomas: In the latest boxing news, there is talk of WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) possibly paying top IBF mandatory heavyweight contender Alexander Povetkin (19-0, 14 KO’s) 700,000 Euros to step aside so that Haye can fight IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (54-3, 48 KO’s). In American dollars, that comes out to roughly $935,000. This is the fight that Haye has been talking about for the past year, and it’s a fight that would bring in a huge pay day of a reported 10 million Euros for both Klitschko and Haye.

It’s a real dilemma, though, for Haye, because it’s a fight that Haye will likely lose by knockout because of Klitschko’s bigger size and better experience. Haye has other easier options besides a fight with Wladimir Klitschko. Haye could always choose to fight a rematch with 7-foot former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev, who Haye already beat last year by a 12 round majority decision.

Haye has a rematch clause for that fight and has to fight Valuev sooner or later. There’s also the possibility of a bout against light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins, the 45-year-old former middleweight great, who is interested in fighting Haye. That fight might seem like a stinker on paper given Hopkins recent disappointing fight with Roy Jones Jr. last weekend, but it’s also a fight that will still do reasonably well in the United States.

The fight would serve the purpose of making Haye better known to the American public before Haye faces the daunting task of fighting Wladimir Klitschko. It would be a smart move on Haye’s part to take the lesser money to fight Hopkins first, and then provided that Haye beats Hopkins, then move on and take the big money bout with Wladimir. However, Haye said yesterday that he wasn’t interested in fighting Hopkins. Haye could change his mind, though.

If Haye does give Povetkin the step aside fee in order to fight Wladimir it would likely be with the blessing of the promotional company Sauerland Events, who reportedly partially promotes Haye and also promotes Povetkin. They would do well to have Povetkin paid to wait, and then have Haye fight a big money bout against Wladimir Klitschko. The winner would then be facing Povetkin.

By then, whoever emerges at the winner between Haye and Klitschko would be even more popular than ever before because of the publicity behind the Haye-Klitschko bout. It’s a plus for Povetkin to take the step aside fee – if it’s offered to him – because he has very little chance of beating Wladimir anyway. At least by taking the step aside fee, he’s getting some extra money that he wouldn’t be getting otherwise.

He’s also benefiting by being able to fight an even more popular Haye or Wladimir after they do fight. Haye would probably be better off facing Hopkins, so at least Haye would have more of a name for himself by the time he does face Wladimir. Right now, Haye is only known by hardcore boxing fans in the United States. A Haye-Klitschko bout would likely have little more meaning than the recent Chambers-Klitschko bout, which the cable networks in the U.S. decided not to show for one reason or another.

Hopkins obviously would be in a tough situation facing a knockout artist like Haye, but he would serve the purpose of making a name for Haye in the U.S. Haye would likely look very impressive in beating Hopkins, as long as Haye could deal with Hopkins’ clinching and inside game.