By Michael Liberman: Recently, WBA/WBO cruiserweight champion David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) has come out and flatly turned down a potential fight against British heavyweight Matt Skelton that was offered up to him for his next fight at heavyweight, saying that he’s not interested in fighting a granddad, obviously a shot at the fact that Skelton, 41, is 14 years older than him. Instead, Haye, 27, is looking reportedly interested in taking on former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, who’s fighting James Toney next month on July 16th.
David Haye
David Haye boxing news
Haye: “I’m Going To Go Out There and Smash Him [Klitschko] To Bits
By Jim Dower: Ex-cruiserweight now turned heavyweight David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) has once again refused to let up on his pressure on IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs), whom he has been after steadily for the past two months trying to line up a fight. In a press release from Setanta sports, Haye, 27, said “He’s [Wladimir Klitschko] universally recognized as the number one fighter, so that’s the guy I have to go after.”
Thus far, Klitschko, 32, has mostly been silent about Haye’s constant challenges, though recently Haye cornered Klitschko at a charity event and called him out in front of a large horde of media personal. Klitschko, looking a little timid and at a loss for words, asked Haye how much he weights and then told him to get in line. In other words, Klitschko was seemingly not interested in a bout with the young knockout artist from the cruiserweight division. It is odd, though, because Klitschko as good as he is, has been without a true career-defining fight. At the same time, he’s never had an opponent nearly as popular as Haye, one that would bring in millions of dollars for both of them.
Haye Gives Up WBC Cruiserweight Belt
By Scott Gilfoid: David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) has reportedly givin up his WBC cruiserweight championship belt, and asking the WBC to rate him in the WBC heavyweight division. However, he still has yet to give up his other two cruiserweight belts, the WBA and WBO. One can imagine that Haye, 27 will shortly be giving up those belts as well as he moves forward with his hopes of winning a heavyweight title in the near future. As for Haye’s WBC cruiserweight title, it will be fought over by Rudolf Kraj and Giacobbe Fragomeni. The latter fighter is no stranger to Haye, having fought a life and death battle with him in November 2006, in which Haye, who was bloodied and hit often, eventually prevailed with a 9th round stoppage.
Since letting his plans known that he wants to move up to cruiserweight, Haye has not been shy about wanting to take on the best in the division. Unlike most fighters, Haye has no interest in taking things slow and moving up in small increments the way that it’s normally done in the boxing world. Almost immediately, Haye called out IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko , asking him to fight him. After getting not getting a positive response from Klitschko, Haye recently confronted him at a charity press conference in April, getting face to face with Klitschko and calling him out. Klitschko looked both startled and afraid, as if he wasn’t sure if Haye was going to reach out and clock him with one of his big trademark right hands.
Wladimir Klitschko Looking Scared Of Haye
By Nate Anderson: IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) recently came in contact with David Haye last weekend in London for the “Fight for Peace” press conference, which led to Haye calling out a somewhat startled looking Wladimir Klitschko, who looked like he wanted to shrink away and disappear into the woodwork rather than tackle the confrontational Haye. During the conversation, Haye, 27, called out Klitschko repeatedly, saying “Don’t run…. Don’t hide, come and fight. Don’t run. There’s no need to hide behind these bums.” Instead of firing back and accepting Haye’s challenge, a frightened looking Wladimir said “Talk is cheap. You have to deliver in the ring. Get in the ring and do your job. Now in the heavyweight division you’re no one…behave yourself.”
However, beyond Wladimir’s words, he looked intimidated by Haye, and nothing like the way a champion should look like, especially a heavyweight that most people consider being the best in the sport at this time. Haye, absolutely the best cruiserweight fighter in boxing, has never been reluctant to fight any of the top cruiserweights in the division, previously beating Jean-Marc Mormeck, Alexander Gurov and most recently Enzo Maccarinelli with relative ease.
Haye vs. Klitschko: A Possible Fight In 2009?
By Michael Lieberman: According to Sky Sports, IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (50-3, 44 KOs) is in talks with cruiserweight champion David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) for a fight that would likely take place later in the year. With a mandatory defense of his WBO title to take place in July against challenger Tony Thompson, Klitschko then has immediately defend his IBF heavyweight title against number one contender Alexander Povetkin – a fight which will likely take place in November or December of 2008. That leaves early 2009 as being the most likely opening for a fight between Klitschko and Haye. That is, unless Wladimir chooses to throw away his IBF belt, abandoning it for the immediate fight with Haye.
That would perhaps be the smartest option for Klitschko, because he stands to gain little by having to defend both titles repeatedly against dull fighters that the public has little interest in seeing Klitschko fight. It’s doubtful that Klitschko will give up the IBF belt, as he’s made it known that he wants to attempt to unify the titles in the near future. It seems like a near hopeless venture, for the WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev is likely to never fight Klitschko, and as for the WBC heavyweight title, it’s held by Samuel Peter, who has a potential future match against Wladimir’s older brother Vitali. If by chance Vitali should win, that would remove the possibility of a title unification bout between Peter and Wladimir.
Samuel Peter Gives Warning To Haye
By Jack Kurr: WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter (30-1, 23 KOs) recently advised David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) to take things slow while climbing the latter in the heavyweight division, saying to Santasports writer Spencer Fearon, “It [the heavyweight division] is not a place for kids…The people who jump up from cruiserweight to heavyweight, I will send them back.” Peter, 27, knows from what he speaks as he twice defeated James Toney, another cruiserweight who attempted to make a go at it in the heavyweight division.
Like Toney, Haye, 27, has appeared in to be in a rush since making his intentions public about wanting to move up to the heavyweight division shortly after his 2nd round TKO of Enzo Maccarinelli on March 8th. Haye, a fighter that doesn’t shy away from making bold comments in the media, immediately called out IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, saying he has “No chin” and fought in an “embarrassing” fashion in his recent title bout against then WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov. The comments from Haye failed to initiate much of a reaction from Klitschko, who appeared mildly amused and responded that Haye was making noise in the media to bring attention to himself.
Klitschko-Haye: Don’t Hold Your Breath Waiting For This Fight To Happen
By Nate Anderson: Much has been made of IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko’s comments made recently to the BBC Radio 5 Live, saying this about WBA/WBC/WBO cruiserweight champion David Haye (21-1, 20 KOs): “He’s an exciting fighter so why not?…If he wants to bring excitement then I wish him best of luck. He better get himself in the gym and get ready to fight.” However, for those who failed to listen to the audio of the interview, Klitschko was for all practical purposes making fun of Haye, 27, who has been critical of Klitschko since he recently defeated WBO heavyweight champion Sultan Ibragimov in February.
Haye has made it public that he’d like to fight Klitschko, and thinks he’d knockout him out in short order. Up until yesterday, Klitschko hadn’t said a word about Hayes’ comments, staying low key as is his custom, but when the question was put to him by the interviewer, Wladimir seemed to go with it, giving a little hope for a future fight with Hayes where there previously was none. That said, I don’t see Wladimir fighting Haye anytime soon, mainly because Klitschko has two immediate mandatories for his IBF & WBO titles – against Tony Thompson and Alexander Povetkin – which leaves no room for a fight against a cruiserweight with a big mouth.
Maccarinelli’s loss was only the start for Enzo Calzaghe
By Nick Kelly: Saturday night saw Enzo Maccarinelli defeated by David Haye and whilst the loss was crushing for Maccarinelli, it might have been the other Enzo in the corner looking just as worried.
Last Saturday was the first of four bouts over the coming months in which Enzo Calzaghe’s reputation at one of the best trainers in the world is put to the test.
Heralded by both the BBC and the Ring Magazine as the trainer of the year for 2007, 2008 will determine whether he can measure up to the level of Floyd Mayweather senior, Emmanuel Steward and Freddie Roach.
Haye Wants A Piece Of Wladimir Klitschko
By Jim Slattengren: As WBA/WBC cruiserweight champion David Haye prepares for this Saturday’s bout against WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli (28-1, 21 KOs) at the O2 Arena (Millenium Dome), Greenwich, in London, United Kingdom, Haye is making it clear that he not only wants to move up to to the heavyweight division after his match with Maccarinelli, but that he also feels that he’ll beat WBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, who is considered to be the premier heavyweight in the division by many fans and sports writers alike. In a recent interview, Haye, 27, had this to say about Klitschko’s recent fight with Sultan Ibragimov:
“Watching it, I was ashamed to be a boxer…you had a big guy of 6ft 6in, who was afraid to throw a jab at a little guy…I can’t wait to go up and knock that bum out.”
Obviously, Haye was less than impressed with Klitschko’s performance, as was many other fans who were confused why Wladimir looked so timid against the relative light-hitting Ibragimov. Haye could be only talking, trying to create press for himself by making bold statements in the press by saying he could beat what people consider to be the best heavyweight.
Enzo Calzaghe: “If David Haye goes 12 rounds, he will never fight again”
By Dan Ambrose: The father of Joe Calzaghe, Enzo, has recently come out with a stern warning to WBA/WBC cruiserweight champion David Haye, letting him know that his career may be in jeopardy if his upcoming March 8th bout against WBO cruiserweight champion Enzo Maccarinelli goes 12-rounds. Haye, a knockout artist accustomed to ending his bouts early, has struggled with his stamina in fights against Carl Thompson, who stopped Haye in the 5th round after he punched himself out in their September 2004 bout, and against Giacobbe Fragomeni, a fight in which Haye took an awful amount of punishment as he tired out after the 6th round in November 2006.