By William Mackay: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) was concerned for fellow British heavyweight Dereck Chisora’s safety in his previously scheduled fight with IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s), which was canceled on Wednesday after Wladimir injured his abdominal muscle while working out. Haye thinks Chisora was way over his head in this fight and could have gotten hurt by Wladimir had the fight actually taken place.

Speaking to the Dailymail.co.uk, Haye said “I was just hoping that Dereck didn’t get badly hurt. There would have been nothing for me to learn from watching it. The only way he could have got a little lucky would have been if Wladimir got him out of there quickly, not bust him up over a long fight the way he sends of his opponents to the hospital. I was really worried for Dereck. I wasn’t surprised that he seems oblivious to what he was getting into. He has no idea yet what is involved in fighting at the highest level and this is the best thing that could have happened to him.”

Wladimir would like to face Haye next if possible if Chisora will step aside for awhile and let the fight take place. Right now, it doesn’t look like Chisora will step aside.

I guess Haye is right. Chisora did get lucky, at least for now. He was way out of his league in this fight with Wladimir, and was too inexperienced to even realize it. I was reminded of a lot of the fights I’ve seen in the past where one guy is totally over-looking someone that is clearly many leagues better and ends up getting pulverized when the fighter doesn’t know enough to just back off. The problem with Chisora is that he’s been fighting too many weaker heavyweights in the UK and it’s obviously distorted his judgment to the point where he has no natural fear of facing someone as good as Wladimir. After Chisora gets badly beaten many times in his career, his outlook will likely change dramatically unless he continues to be spoon fed nothing but local domestic fighters for the remainder of his career. But he will get his fight with Wladimir, because his promoter Frank Warren is saying that it’s in the contract that Wladimir must fight Chisora within 180 days.