By Dave Lahr: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) has left available the July 2nd date for WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) to fight him if he wishes. Wladimir might as well have announced that he doesn’t want the Haye fight because Wladmir won’t have his titles at that time because he will have already lost them in his April 30th fight against unbeaten Dereck Chisora (14-0, 9 KO’s), who Wladimir faces on April 30th in Mannheim, Germany. Wladimir is crazy to set up fights that count on him winning the Chisora fight because that’s like counting your chicks before they’ve hatched. It’s not smart.
Speaking to the BBC Sport News, Klitschko said “After talking so much nonsense, he [Haye] has to show up in the ring. He has been trying to be smart but eventually he has backed himself into a corner. And he is talking about legacy? I don’t see no legacy with David Haye, I’m sorry. I have to be honest with you, but it isn’t just my opinion. I know the British fans are looking forward to this fight and I am looking forward to actually satisfying the British fans and fight David Haye. I’m right here and I’m confirming that July 2nd as I’ve said before is the date for the fight. Either David Haye takes it or the whole thing is dead. We already agreed on the money, so we split everything 50-50. Of course there is a lot of money to be made, but money isn’t the issue right now. As I’ve said, I’ve confirmed the date of July 2nd, and the answer from David Haye was ‘I don’t want you to fight before,’ and I won’t listen to David Haye at all.”
Haye already warned Wladimir not to take the fight with Chisora on April 30th, saying that he doesn’t believe that Wladimir would fight him so quickly after what will be a grueling fight. Additionally, Haye wants more time to market the Haye-Klitschko fight and if Haye were to agree to the July 2nd date, there wouldn’t be nearly as much time to hype the fight than if Wladimir hadn’t taken the Chisora bout. That leaves roughly two months to market the Klitschko vs. Haye fight, and that’s not nearly enough time to get fans excited about the fight. I totally agree with Haye on this one. It’s not about him being afraid to fight Wladimir on July 2nd; It’s about being smart business-wise by having enough time to sell the fight. If Haye were to agree to the July 2nd bout with Wladimir, there would likely be less fans that would see the fight because of the lack of time to advertise the fight. Also, there would be the danger of Wladimir pulling out of the fight due to the injuries he sustained in the Chisora bout.
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