By Eric Thomas: When it comes to trash talking and mind games, WBA heavyweight champion is in a world all to himself. He has no equal in that department is like the heavyweight divisions’ version of Ricardo Mayorga in his ability to make fun of his opponents and promote a fight with his gift for gab. Haye has done a lot better job of getting to his July 2nd opponent IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KO’s) than he has with Haye.

However, it still likely won’t help Haye any on the night of the fight, because unlike some of Haye’s recent opponents who have looked out of sorts by the time they entered the ring with him, Wladimir still seems very, very confident and ready to stick to whatever game plan that he’s put together for Haye. From what Wladimir is saying he plans on using his typical jab and grab technique to wear Haye down and then take him out with either a left hook or a fight hand as late in the fight as possible.

If Haye’s trash talking doesn’t have Wladimir ready to turn it into a war at the 1st bell, Haye could be in for a long night of eating jabs and getting beaten up. His punch assortment his limited, and his punching angles are ones that Wladimir is good at shutting off. Wladimir has always done a good job of blocking wide looping punches throw at him. The kind of shots that he’s had problems with are straight punches or when a fighter is able to work his way to the inside the way that Lamon Brewster did when he hurt Wladimir with a left hook in his 5th round TKO win over Wladimir in 2004. However, Haye isn’t nearly a big a puncher as Brewster was on the inside and will haven to count on doing most of his work from the distance.