By William Mackay: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) could end up fighting #2 ranked WBA challenger Ruslan Chagaev (26-1-1, 17 KO’s) next. Chagaev, 31, defeated Kali Meehan by a 12 round unanimous decision last Saturday night in the WBA heavyweight title eliminator match at the Stadthalle, Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The win makes Chagaev the mandatory challenger for Haye and guarantees him a shot against the British heavyweight in the near future. It’s looking like Haye, 29, won’t be facing IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko next.

Haye had talked about wanting to fight Wladimir next, but after Haye beat former heavyweight champion John Ruiz, he has shown more interest in resting and less in wanting to fight Wladimir right now. Haye does want to fight Wladimir and his brother WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, but it appears he wants to fight them later on down the road. Haye has a number of appealing fights in front of him besides Chagaev. There’s talk of Haye fighting the European Boxing Union heavyweight champion Audley Harrison next. That would be a highly interesting fight because Harrison, the former 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, has good fan base and is well known in the UK.

A fight between him and Haye would likely do well on pay-per-view. Haye also could fight Valuev again in the future. That’s obviously a less exciting fight, but one that Haye could win without too many problems unless Valuev was able to land one of his clubbing shots on Haye’s weak chin. Those are three fights that Haye could theoretically take in the next year and a half to retain his WBA title. Following that, Haye could then decide whether he’s interested in facing the Klitschko brothers. Haye says he wants to retire by 31.

Haye turns 30 in October. Haye could perhaps squeeze in a couple more title defenses before facing the Klitschko brothers to further milk his title against perhaps Denis Boytsov, Alexander Ustinov, Alexander Dimitrenko or Robert Helenius. Those fights would give Haye good preparation for what would be in store for him when/if he was to fight either of the Klitschko brothers. Granted, none of them would likely hold a candle to the talent of the Klitschkos, but they would at least give Haye a hint of what he would be facing if he were to step in the ring with the Klitschko brothers.

Chagaev could very well be next for Haye. Chagaev looked okay in beating Kali Meehan last Saturday night. He attacked constantly and landed some left hands in the fight. Meehan made it easy for Chagaev by spending good portions of the fight backed against the ropes where he gave up his height. When he had Chagaev in the center of the ring, Meehan was much more effective. However, he didn’t throw enough punches and basically gave the fight away by being inactive. Chagaev, only 6’1”, looked slow and not that powerful against Meehan.

It’s hard to imagine that Chagaev would last very long against Haye. He would have problems with his movement, fast hands and big power shots. However, if Haye couldn’t hurt Chagaev or put him down, he could find himself in deep trouble, because Chagaev’s left hands might dent Haye’s fragile chin if he can land enough. Chagaev was totally dominated by Wladimir last year in June, losing by a 9th round stoppage. However, that was Wladimir and not Haye. Things could be very difficult for Haye unless he’s able to take Chagaev out early before he gets warmed up.