HAYE PULLS OUT OF KLITSCHKO FIGHT, AND NOW WHAT?
BY PHILIP H. ANSELMO
After all the boasts, head-decapitating predictions etc. David Haye has seemingly squirmed out of the fight, set for the 20th of this month of June, against #1 ranked Wladimir Klitschko. I’m not saying Haye’s injury isn’t legit, but was the fight itself really legit? It was a volunteer defense for Wlad anyway!
And what had Haye brought to the table but a big KO ratio at cruiserweight, two soft-touch wins at heavyweight and proof of his ability to sell a fight with words? Now Wladimir is calling out Chris Arreola? Why not WBA champ Nicolay Valuev? Hey, it’s common knowledge that politics would, and probably always will stand in the way of making such a fight, but for fuck’s sake, Team Klitschko should at least make the effort! Valuev’s fight with Ruslan Chagaev just fell through a week ago!
Both Klitschko and Valuev are primed and ready to fight NOW! Not only would it be a bigger fight (literally, the biggest), but it would be a unification fight to determine the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world! If Wlad was stripped of one of his other alphabet straps for NOT fighting Arreola, who cares? At this point, it wouldn’t matter- with a victory over Valuev, Wlad will have reached his long-time goal! Like when Lennox Lewis relinquished the WBA title instead of taking a meaningless fight against John “The Snuggler” Ruiz. When would there be another chance so perfectly laid out to make a fight between these two giants?
I know Team Chagaev is protesting their ever-loving asses off right now, but how long would it really take for a second look at Ruslan’s blood work? A few hours? If the guy has hepatitis, get him out of there like Tommy Morrison!
But if Chagaev isn’t infected, and this is a crap tactic of Team Valuev’s making, let Ruslan step in for Haye! The “WBA C.I.R.” would do nicely, and the winner of a fight between he and Wlad ought to produce the same results; an undisputed champ! Either Nicolay or Ruslan are the fights worth taking.
A fight with Arreola would be premature (for Chris), and mean absolutely nothing as far as the big picture is concerned, except another “mandatory” defense for Wlad. For the sake of boxing, let’s hope for the more meaningful options.