By Jason Kim: After choosing not to fight IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in a unification bout, which Klitschko and his team reportedly gave Haye a 50-50 deal with no options, WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) is thought to be still heading for a fight against 38-year-old former 2000 Olympic super heavyweight Gold Medalist Audley Harrison sometime later this year.

Although the 29-year-old Haye hasn’t stated publicly that he’ll take the fight with Harrison, it’s thought that Harrison will be the fight that Haye will take instead of the much more dangerous Wladimir Klitschko.

Harrison isn’t well thought of outside of the UK, and the interest in a Haye-Harrison fight will likely stay entirely confined to the UK. But this is a fight in which Haye will have a good chance of winning it early without getting hit a lot. Haye got hit a few times in his 9th round stoppage of 38-year-old former WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz back in April.

Haye made the mistake of letting Ruiz stick around too long and took some shots before he finally ended matters in the 9th. Haye, 6’2″, doesn’t have the size to bomb out the average sized heavyweights without taking a fair of punishment like the Klitschko brothers, who mostly get out of their fights without taking too may heavy shots.

It’s unclear why Haye chose not to go for the 50-50 deal that was reportedly given to him by Wladimir. It could be that Haye wanted a better deal than that or he might have been having visions of miking his WBA title longer and saw the Klitschko fight as a possible end of the milking process. However, by not fighting Klitschko now, Haye could be taking a gamble because Harrison or one of the contenders in the WBA, could spark Haye out if they stay in the fight longer than seven or eight rounds and land enough shots. Haye has a weak chin and is highly susceptible to being knocked out if he’s tapped just right on his chin.

If Haye does end up fighting Harrison, he’s going to be laughed at a lot and criticized constantly by boxing fans for not fighting one of the Klitschko brothers after all the talking that Haye had been doing previously. Harrison isn’t thought of highly by many boxing fans, and this will be seen as Haye looking to get a soft opponent. Haye said that he was a different type of heavyweight, the new breed of heavyweight, when he moved up to the heavyweight division in 2008. However, since Haye moved up, he’s not seeming very much like a risk taker.