By Scott Gilfoid: It’s really strange to see WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) talking long and hard about his next fight against Audley Harrison. Haye isn’t really saying much about the fight and has seemed to distance himself from it rather than coming right out and embracing the fight. It’s like something Haye tiptoeing around rather than just talking about it and admitting that he’s going to be fighting Harrison. I may be wrong about this, but Haye seems to be showing the signs of being embarrassed about the Harrison fight. So what if boxing fans will think that Haye is ducking the Klitschko brothers yet again. At least he’ll have a better chance of winning.

This is a complete departure for Haye in his past fights. Haye is usually bragging about how badly he’s going to beat such and such opponent. But in the case of 38-year-old Harrison, Haye isn’t saying hardly anything. We did get a little bit from Haye today from his twitter page, saying “Shut the f**k up, Fraudley. If somehow we ever do fight, that career high payday you crave won’t cover you medical bills. Pipe down.” That is really strange for Haye. It almost seems like Haye is ashamed of fighting Harrison for some reason. It’s like he’s trying to distance himself from it.

I don’t think Haye is really interested in fighting Harrison, but he needs to come out and talk about it anyway, since it does appear to be his next fight. It didn’t have to be this way. Haye could have fought either of the Klitschko brothers if he wanted to. But instead, it looks like he’s going to settle for the 38-year-old Harrison. This is after Haye already fought 38-year-old John Ruiz in his last fight. It looks like there’s some milking going on.

If Haye hates the Harrison fight so much, why doesn’t he stand on his principals and walk away from it and take on the next best opponent in the heavyweight division, like maybe Odlanier Solis, Tomasz Adamek or Denis Boytsov. I find it hard to imagine Haye being this silent about his next fight if he were facing one of those fighters next. By not talking about Harrison, Haye might be trying to put off the firestorm of criticism that he will likely receive until the last possible moment when it can no longer be avoided. It’s like putting off a dentist appointment. Haye is going to have to bring it out in the light sooner or later. He might as well embrace the Harrison fight already, and take the criticism that will follow.