By William Mackay: With the British Boxing Board of Control likely to say no to WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) fighting former WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev in the UK, it leaves Haye with the choice of fighting Chagaev in Germany or deciding to forget about him altogether and just choosing instead to face the number #2 contender unbeaten Alexander Povetkin (21-0, 15 KO’s).

Since Haye probably won’t like the idea of traveling to Germany and fighting the dangerous southpaw Chagaev there, it’s likely that Haye is going to choose instead to fight the 31-year-old Povetkin in the UK.

For some boxing fans, they see Povetkin as a good solid choice as an opponent for Haye. However, it might be less than an impressive choice if you look at how Povetkin has been regressing as a fighter since beating Eddie Chambers in 2008 in the IBF heavyweight eliminator tournament. Back then, Povetkin was fighting well and in his prime. Since then, Povetkin has looked sluggish in defeating his last six opponents and has suffered a number of injuries during that time. Recently, Povetkin struggled to beat Nicolai Firtha (19-8-1, 8 KO’s) by a 10 round decision last December. Povetkin looked horrible in that fight and ended up badly bruised in earning a 10 round decision.

Povetkin looked little better than many of Haye’s aging heavyweight opponents that he’s feasted on during the past three years, and this may be about as easy fight for Haye as his fights with 38-year-old John Ruiz and 38-year-old Monte Barrett were. Povetkin looks like a shot fighter to me. He doesn’t appear to be the same fighter he once was, and that’s why I see Haye choosing him rather than opting to take on the more dangerous Chagaev outside of the UK.