By Sean McDaniel: Carl Froch estimates that WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-1, 23 KO’s) will come into his next fight against IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) weighing around 210 pounds on July 2nd at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg, Germany. Froch knows Haye very well and thinks that Haye’s speed will be an important factor in him beating the slower, bigger Klitschko.

However, if Froch’s estimates are correct, which they appear to be, Haye will be giving away almost 40 pounds against the 247 pound Wladimir. That’s a significant number. Wladimir is used to fighting much bigger guys than Haye and taking their shots. Haye can punch really hard from time to time, but for the most part his power isn’t always hard.

In an article at Sky Sports News, Froch said “Speed is going to be a big factor in this fight. Klitschko is big and strong but he is also a little bit clumsy and cumbersome. What is he 17-18 stone? He is a big lad. So if David has that speed, well speed can win fights. Speed and timing is your power. I think he will come in around 15 stone [210 lbs]. He won’t want that leaking out just yet though.”

Wladimir has done really well against fighters that weigh between 209 to 220 range. He dominates the smaller guys, as well, of course, as the bigger fighters. But the fighters that have beaten Wladimir in the past have weighed from 225 to 249. A 210 pound Haye would fall in the neighborhood of Chris Byrd and Eddie Chambers, two fighters that were too small to compete with Wladimir and were thrown around the ring by him. Haye could find himself getting tossed around on July 2nd. It’s probably too late for him to change his weight any, because if were to suddenly try to add weight at this point it would only be fat and that wouldn’t help him either.