By Sean McDaniel: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) still isn’t saying who he plans on fighting next. It’s been three months since he last fought, stopping two-time heavyweight champion John Ruiz in the 9th round in April.

Haye, 29, has to make up his mind soon to choose an opponent or risk having his World Boxing Association belt stripped from him by the WBA sanctioning organization. Adam Booth, Haye’s trainer/manager, spoke with the Dailystar.co.uk recently, saying “David is still saying, ‘Why the hell should I be fighting Audley when he’s not ranked in the top ten?’ I’m not saying Audley is not a possibility. Nothing has been done yet and we are not moving ahead.”

If Booth and Haye were smart, they would take the easy fight against Harrison and get a nice payday without the risk of Haye getting knocked cold by one of his top 10 contenders. The problem is that of the top 10 contenders that the WBA have ranked, none of them are big stars and many of them punch hard enough to knock Haye out if they connect with anything.

At least with Harrison, Haye could get a decent payday in the UK, without all the risk that would come if Haye were to fight one of his top 10 contenders like Odlanier Solis, Tomasz Adamek, Denis Boytsov and Samuel Peter, to name just a few of them.

Booth says “I’ve spoken to Eddie Hearn a couple of times and I’ve also had offers from Bernard Hopkins and Shannon Briggs. Tomasz Adamek, with all the tickets he would sell to Poles living in Britain, is another possibility. But nothing is going to be decided for four or five weeks.”

If that’s the case, then Haye likely won’t fight until November or December. That’s a long time to go in between title defenses. At this pace, Haye will be lucky to get another three fights in before he retires at 31 next year, if that’s what Haye is going to do. He’s spoken a lot of wanting to retire at 31, and he’s going to be turning 31 late next year in October.

Hearn thinks a fight between Harrison and Haye can make big money, as much as 10 million pounds. It could be. Haye needs to speak up already and make the fight happen. There’s no shame in fighting a popular fighter like Harrison. At least Haye could keep winning for a little while longer.