One year ago we all listened as David Haye heavily criticized Wladimir Klitschko for a couple of his fights which were not much more exciting that Ali-Young or Tyson-Tucker. He said he would eliminate the Klitschko from the Heavyweight throne and instill much needed excitement. He said it would be the easiest fight of his career.
In 2009, Haye got what he wished for but pulled out of two fights with both Klitschko Brothers. He used several excuses to cancel the first fight with Wladimir, including – hand injury, back injury, unhappy with the contract he signed, and fear of not getting paid when the TV network that sponsored him went belly up. Usually just one excuse will do just fine, but when a fighter uses multiple excuses to avoid a fight, even the most ill-informed observer knows something is up.
Something is definitely up. Wladimir Klitschko is now adamantly trying to make a Haye fight happen next, as we saw in the You Tube video where he openly challenged the loud-mouthed Brit and basically called him a “bitch.” But Haye and his manager Adam Booth are not pleased that the big fight is knocking on their door.
Haye and Booth seem uneasy and uncomfortable now that Wladimir Klitschko wants to do business.
Haye is on the spot and the next few days will tell us the truth of what he really is – the Hayemaker or the Hayefaker. Will Haye step up and back his words with actions, giving the sport the huge heavyweight showdown it has been waiting years to see? Or is Haye content to hide behind his manager and a series of easy handpicked set ups like Meehan, Valuev, Chagaev, from his protectors at the WBA, while trying to portray himself as a superstar sporting celebrity? Is David Haye really the fearless bigshot he says he is? Or is he just another fraud, who when it came down to the moment of truth, became completely intimidated by the man he tried but failed to intimidate? Is Wladimir Klitschko so formidable, so devastatingly effective, that his top challengers fully know it and are afraid to sacrifice their careers to his deadly fists?
David Haye has the ball in his court. The world is waiting and watching.
