By Lee Fletcher: With the younger Klitschko brother struggling to permanently overcome an abdominal injury, and the poor showing of Ordinary Solis in his recent heavyweight title fight, it is looking ever increasingly like Vitali will end up fighting David Haye in this summer’s much anticipated match up.

Much has been said about the relationship between the two camps in the drawn out build up to the fight that will hopefully take place now in June 25th or July 2nd. Sooner or later though it is going to come down to two men and a boxing ring. Inside the four ropes name calling and t-shirts mean nothing.

I would be a fool to tell you I think one or the other will come out the winner because I don’t know and in truth my opinion on who I think will win changes on a regular basis.

I could argue that Haye will win. You just can’t question the man’s power. He doesn’t aim for the head, he aims for the space behind it and when he connects it is devastating. And whether it was pleasant to watch or not he set the blueprint for beating Vitali on points when he beat the big Russian Nicolai Valuev. He picked his shots and didn’t allow himself to get involved in a brawl with a man much bigger and stronger than himself. This worked to great effect and you have to believe he has the maturity, technique, concentration and speed to pull it off again; after all he is in his boxing prime. What works for Haye though is also his biggest problem. You can see in the majority of his fights that he fades in the latter rounds despite his obvious physical prowess. This I believe is a problem a lot of muscular sportsmen suffer from. The bigger the muscle mass the more oxygen your body needs to run. It is some might argue unavoidable. Add to this the ferocity about which Haye goes about his business and it is no shocker this happens. It was not a problem against a slow giant like Valuev but against Vitali is he going to get as much time to rest. Another problem for Haye is his chin. Not glass by any means but he has seen the canvas before and he will have to be on top of his game going up against the man nicknamed Dr iron fist. he is also losing a lot in height against the big Ukrainian and will have to work a lot harder to get past the jab. And this brings me to Vitali.

I could also argue that Vitali will win but really his record is an argument in itself. Standing at 6 ft. 7 inches tall with a reach of 80 inches the man is literally a boxing specimen. Dr Ironfist is so called because he too has unquestionable power. The man has proved it again and again. The power is not just in his big shots but also in his world renowned jab. His work rate is commendable and the precision with which he throws his punches is brilliant. You rarely see him wasting energy when he doesn’t have to. Another thing to take into account is the venue. The fight is reputed to be held in Germany where the k brothers have a big following. How will Haye react against a hostile crowd? Will it intimidate him or spur him on? All that said Vitali is no spring chicken. At 39 he is past his prime. No doubt he has still got the power but has he got the speed? Another factor is his stamina. Through no fault of his own he has not been worked for twelve rounds in a long time. He has gone twelve rounds but he was easily in control and never had to really put the effort in, he will have to work a lot harder against Haye. Also we know he has a good chin but it is good enough to take one of Hayes huge shots. It hasn’t been tested since his 2008 return to the ring.

So their it is. The pros and cons. The’ ifs’ and ‘buts’. But as I said sooner or later it will come down to two men and a boxing ring. Who will win I ask you? Hopefully we’ll see.