By William Mackay: After WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) defeated 38-year-old John Ruiz in his last fight in April, Haye, 29, said “I’d like to fight who fans want me to fight.” Well, it looks like Haye has chosen to ignore that comment because in choosing 38-year-old former European Boxing Union heavyweight champion Audley Harrison (27-4, 20 KO’s) to fight next on November 13th at the M.E.N. Arena, Manchester, Lancashire, Haye is choosing someone that is benefiting his bank account but not really getting fans the fights that they want to see.

If Haye was concerned about wanting to please his fans, he would be fighting the Klitschko brothers instead of the aging 38-year-old Harrison to fight. What makes this fight even worse to stomach, is that Haye says that he only plans on fighting for about one more year until his birthday on October 13th in 2011, at which time Haye will promptly retire from boxing. However, if Haye is as good at doing what he says as he was with his remark about fighting the fights that boxing fans want to see, it’s questionable whether Haye will retire next year, especially if he’s doing well beating up on guys like Harrison and whoever else comes after him.

I have doubts that Haye will choose to fight the Klitschko brothers next. I just don’t see that fight happening next. Maybe his fans in the UK want to see him decimate Harrison for some reason, but they might change their minds about it if Haye takes Harrison out in one or two rounds. There’s something about watching a fast blowout that has a way of turning fans off. But the thing is this fight has early knockout written all over it. You’d have to really reach to give Harrison much of any chance, because he looked positively awful in his recent win over Michael Sprott.

Injury or not, Harrison looked bad from the very first round of that fight even before he injured his chest muscle. You take one look at Harrison’s performance in that fight and it’s hard to give him any chance in this fight with Haye unless Harrison rushes Haye in the first round and lands one on his jaw. Once this fight is over with, I’m hoping Haye at least goes after guys like Denis Boytsov, Odlanier Solis or Tomasz Adamek next. I have no faith in Haye fighting the Klitschko brothers before he retires, so I’m just hoping he at least fights those guys.