By Sean McDaniel: David Haye (25-2, 23 KO’s) is keeping himself in excellent shape to stay ready for when he gets a call to fight WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (43-2, 40 KO’s) next or a take on his brother IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (56-3, 49 KO’s) in a rematch that Haye badly wants.

Haye told the BBC Sport “If there’s a fight that pops up against Vitali or Wladimir, I’ll be in shape and ready to go to war and win back my old titles. It’s down to Vitali. He seems very keen to knock me out. Not only to fight me, but to do what his brother Wladimir couldn’t do and put me on the canvas.”

Vitali wants Haye next after Vitali first faces Dereck Chisora (15-2, 9 KO’s) next month on February 18th in Munich, Germany. Vitali should win that fight and be ready to negotiate a bout with Haye for the summer. Vitali may have to give Haye what he’s asking for in terms of a purse split because Haye knows how much he brings to the table for a Vitali fight in terms of attracting worldwide attention to the fight. It’s almost as Haye is still a champion because he’ll be able to bring in a lot of fans for a Vitali-Haye fight in the UK, as well the United States and Canada.

Depending on how well Haye does against Vitali, he could then target Wladimir to attempt to avenge his loss. It’s going to be a big ask to try and get past Vitali but it’s not impossible. Vitali is slow on his feet and he’s not much quicker than 7-foot Nikolay Valuev, who Haye beat in 2009. Haye was beaten by Wladimir last year in July, but the loss was partly due to Haye making the mistake of fighting with a broken toe. Haye felt he had to take the fight due to the huge amount of fan interest. He didn’t want to postpone the fight because it would have caused a lot of problems. In hindsight, he may have been better off having done so because it cost him the fight.