By William Mackay: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) wasn’t impressed with the “London championship” bout between WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) and his hand-picked opponent 39-year-old Audley Harrison (27-5, 20 KO’s) last weekend at the M.E.N. Arena, in Manchester, England. Both Haye and Harrison looked paralyzed with fear for the two rounds until Haye finally decided to throw some punches and took Harrison out in the 3rd round after knocking him down.

In an article at the Dailymail, Wladimir says “I watched the fight and they [Haye vs. Harrison] were scared chickens for three rounds. It was not even as good as a British championship fight. It was more like a street fight [with amateur fighters]. It reminded me of the fight with [Nikolay] Valuev, when Haye also ran around and ran around like a scared chicken, trying to get up speed and hopefully land something.”

I agree with Wladimir. Haye looked like a frightened rabbit against Harrison last weekend, and while Haye was quick to make excuses after the fight about wanting to hold off on his attack until the 3rd round due to having bet money on that round, it seemed like a flimsy excuse to cover-up being afraid to let his hands go for fear of being knocked out. I firmly believe Haye was so afraid in the first two rounds that he couldn’t let his hands go even if he wanted to. Finally, the crowd boos seemed to get Haye the nerve to throw punches in the 3rd. Boxing fans had already been booing the lack of action in the opening two rounds.

Wladimir continues “He [Haye] talks about what an exciting fighter he he is but even if we do agree to a fight, I’m not sure he would even turn up. I’m talking from a fan’s perspective, not as someone who is going to beat the s**t out of him. I’m getting tired of the nonsense and the lies from his side that the contract is not right. He promised to fight us once, then he promised Chelsea stadium. People forget that. We were supposed to fight in June, but he couldn’t deliver anything.”