By Robert Zak: Finally the biggest heavyweight fight since the days of Lennox Lewis is happening. David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko will (fingers crossed) be meeting in the ring in late June or early July to decide who is the true heavyweight champion. However, I’m not going to speculate in this article on the outcome of this fight as I genuinely believe it could go either way. I’m more interested in the maddening effect David Haye has had on the division.

First off, I’m not a fan of David Haye, but have to admire his cunning in going from fringe contender to the most talked-about heavyweight boxer on the planet (I know that’s not saying much) within a few fights. After fighting a couple of journeymen, Haye’s motormouth earned him a fast-track shot against Wladimir Klitscho. Even though Haye pulled out of the fight due to ‘injury’, he had got under the Klitschko’s skin and wouldn’t be quickly forgotten. The ball got rolling; the longer he held off a Klitschko showdown, the more money it was worth.

After pulling out of the Klitschko fight, Haye squeezed out a victory against the lumbering Russian giant Nikolai Valuev; it was a horrible fight, and Haye was criticized for a ‘cowardly’ performance that failed to justify his claims of lighting up the division. Yet, in disposing of the dullest heavyweight champion in boxing history and replacing him with a bad-mouthing, cheeky Londoner, who can deny that Haye did the division a massive favour? Finally, the division had someone to talk about.

After doing the boxing world another favour by disposing of a faded but stubborn John Ruiz, Haye did the unthinkable and fought against renowned laughing stock, ‘A-Force’ Audley Harrison. After a fight so awful that it spawned conspiracy theories of being fixed, boxing fans were furious, pointing to Haye’s claims of lighting up the heavyweight division as being a filthy lie and false prophecy. Haye was labeled as a cherry-picking fraud who is in the game for the biggest payday rather than trying to create a genuine legacy for himself. And they are right. Haye”s antics were infuriating from a fans perspective. Look at it from a business perspective however, and you have to admire the audaciousness.

But, fellow boxing fans, let’s take a step back for a minute and look at ourselves. Are such passionate reactions not evidence enough that Haye has fulfilled his goal of ‘lighting up the heavyweight division’? Before Haye, the heavyweight division was being dispassionately dominated by the calm, professional Klitschko brothers, whose demeanour in the build-up to fights was so sportsmanlike it was draining; where was the drama? Since Haye appeared on the scene, even the Klitschko brothers have emerged from their composed outer shells. So much so that Wladimir actually seems to be relishing this unprecedented spotlight, going so far as to create a hilariously cheesy black-and-white Youtube video of himself looking all unshaven and ‘menacing’ as he calls Haye out.

When is the last time the heavyweight division had a character like Haye? When is the last time anyone cared about the heavyweight division enough to talk about a fight that had to be made, or a fighter that they really liked or hated? Love him or (more likely) hate him, Haye has momentarily brought some of the boxing world’s attention to the heavyweight division, even if mainly for the reason that people want to see this leary Londoner knocked out cold and sent back to Bermondsey.

If Haye loses against Klitschko, he will retire and, considering the amount of money involved, retire happy. If Haye wins, he will seek another big payday against the elder brother and, as a bonus, be on the verge of making a mini-legacy for himself as the only man who defeated both Ukrainian brothers; a comfortable little position to be in. Either way, most people won’t miss Haye when he’s gone, but it’s safe to say that the heavyweight division will return to being a quiet old place without him; no more passion, no more boxing forum wars, and no more ‘angry Wlad’ videos. Say what you will, Haye’s provided us with an entertaining little moment in the heavyweight division, and it’s coming to an end.