BoxRec

Haye's Team Fire Back at Klitschko, Talks To Begin


WBA heavyweight champion David Haye got the message loud and clear on Monday. IBO/WBO/IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko issued a press release video where he dared the British fighter to accept his challenge. Haye's manager Adam Booth plans to begin immediate negotiations for the fight.

"It's funny that Wladimir says 'on behalf of the boxing fans'," said Booth on Sky Sports News. "Maybe on behalf of the boxing fans Wladimir can sort out with his brother which one is world champion. Maybe they can have a scrap first. It can be in their back garden for all I care, the mum can referee, but just sort out which one is better.

"The winner can fight David. If they don't want to have a scrap, maybe one brother can give the other his belt so David can unify this mess in one punch. Wladimir seems to want the fight now, which is fantastic. If he genuinely wants the fight, the ball's in our court and that's where we like it."

Booth plans to discuss the unification bout with Klitschko's business agent Shelly Finkel in the coming days. One fighter who is not, and never was on their radar, is EBU champion Audley Harrison.

"The last talk we had with the Klitschko brothers was regarding Vitali because the WBC and WBA are the two major titles are far as we're concerned. Vital holds the most significant belt in our eyes," Booth said.

"I had a call from their adviser last week just after David's win [over John Ruiz] and we agreed we would speak this Wednesday, but obviously Wladimir couldn't wait that long. Over the next couple of days we'll be looking at what direction David is going. If that involves a Klitschko, I'll give Shelley Finkel a call. We're not far away, that's for sure."

"Audley's not on our radar. He's never boxed anybody in the world top 20. In David's last 16 fights, he's fought 11 fighters ranked in the top 15. As far as David's legacy is concerned, with respect to being the best fighter he can be and facing the best opponents, I don't think he gets anything out of fighting Audley."

no video though

sg1985 wrote:

Adamj1987 wrote:no video though

Wlad 1 Haye 0

indeed i dont have time to read that i need a video

Adamj1987 wrote:

sg1985 wrote:

Adamj1987 wrote:no video though

Wlad 1 Haye 0

indeed i dont have time to read that i need a video

Trust me young un, time is not something a man with nearly 31000 posts is short of.

Jesus wrote:"The last talk we had with the Klitschko brothers was regarding Vitali because the WBC and WBA are the two major titles are far as we're concerned. Vital holds the most significant belt in our eyes," Booth said.

rubbish.

f*cking claptrap comment that one.

hopefully the negotiations go smoother with the klitschko's this time round.

wlad-haye is the fight i'm most looking forward to right now.

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:

Adamj1987 wrote:

sg1985 wrote:

Wlad 1 Haye 0

indeed i dont have time to read that i need a video

Trust me young un, time is not something a man with nearly 31000 posts is short of.

i honestly dont have that much time i should be on 40,000 27 came before this year started, ive been on abit this week but last week i was onlu on monday night

hitman_hatton1 wrote:

Jesus wrote:"The last talk we had with the Klitschko brothers was regarding Vitali because the WBC and WBA are the two major titles are far as we're concerned. Vital holds the most significant belt in our eyes," Booth said.

rubbish.

f*cking claptrap comment that one.

hopefully the negotiations go smoother with the klitschko's this time round.

wlad-haye is the fight i'm most looking forward to right now.

Do you not think the WBC belt is more highly regarded than the IBF or WBO?

I agree that's rubbish. Although the WBC is historically more prestigious, the fact Wlad holds the IBF, WBO, Ring and, ahem, IBO belt, I would say title wise that's gotta be worth more. On the Ring title alone you could argue that these days.

I'm sure Haye will do a vid reply soon. I mean, I've not seen him on TV for a day now!

Asterix wrote:Do you not think the WBC belt is more highly regarded than the IBF or WBO?

Jesus wrote:Haye's Team Fire Back at Klitschko, Talks To Begin
"Audley's not on our radar. He's never boxed anybody in the world top 20. In David's last 16 fights, he's fought 11 fighters ranked in the top 15. As far as David's legacy is concerned, with respect to being the best fighter he can be and facing the best opponents, I don't think he gets anything out of fighting Audley."

This is a dead giveaway.

Look out for Haye V Harrison next.

whicker wrote:

Jesus wrote:Haye's Team Fire Back at Klitschko, Talks To Begin
"Audley's not on our radar. He's never boxed anybody in the world top 20. In David's last 16 fights, he's fought 11 fighters ranked in the top 15. As far as David's legacy is concerned, with respect to being the best fighter he can be and facing the best opponents, I don't think he gets anything out of fighting Audley."

This is a dead giveaway.

Look out for Haye V Harrison next.

Seriously though, I can't see him facing either of the kilts any time soon.

Asterix wrote:

hitman_hatton1 wrote:

Jesus wrote:"The last talk we had with the Klitschko brothers was regarding Vitali because the WBC and WBA are the two major titles are far as we're concerned. Vital holds the most significant belt in our eyes," Booth said.

rubbish.

f*cking claptrap comment that one.

hopefully the negotiations go smoother with the klitschko's this time round.

wlad-haye is the fight i'm most looking forward to right now.

Do you not think the WBC belt is more highly regarded than the IBF or WBO?

Nowadays being champion for one major organization doesn't mean anything more than being the champ in another. Wlad holds the Ring title, and that should be the belt Haye is most concerned with winning, as it is more highly regarded than any other title at the moment. I actually hope they gun for a Vitali fight. Then Haye will probably give up a big shot at winning for a prolonged beating.

It may have been cheesy but when the dust settles on this video Wlad has put out to entice Haye into action - I'd say Haye wont be able to get out of this one.

Fair pay Wlad.

Could give us the best HW title fight for years lads - I for one would have no bother paying for that one

I'd rather not see Haye fight a klit, yet.

1. He won't win.
2. It would be boring to watch.

Haye is not stupid,and neither is Booth.Full credit to both for getting where they are and maximising his earnings,but no way are they going anywhere near the Klit's.They thought long and hard about Enzo,took the risk,and a lot of Fwanks money.David will retire with bragging rights,and a lot of money in the bank

whicker wrote:I'd rather not see Haye fight a klit, yet.

1. He won't win.
2. It would be boring to watch.

1. Wrong
2. Wrong

other than that it was an excellent post

Chambers2 wrote:

whicker wrote:I'd rather not see Haye fight a klit, yet.

1. He won't win.
2. It would be boring to watch.

1. Wrong
2. Wrong

other than that it was an excellent post

Booth needs to get off his high horse, and platform shoes, and make the Wlad fight ASAP.

Any heavy fight is a big risk for Haye, more so with that less than stella chin, so the chances of blowing a massive Wlad payday is just UNTHINKABLE.

We've seen it happen before, especially at heavyweight, when a "warm up" turns into a life changing disaster - Morrision...and that poor bloke who turned down a Foreman payday, for "just one more warm up please..." and then got cold cocked, never to be heard from again.

And the thing about a Wlad fight is, unlike Vitali, it actually looks a winnable fight for Haye. If he can land that right hand on a vet like Ruiz, who was looking out for the right hand, then he can possibly do the same thing to Wlad.

I think they'll make the Wlad fight next, no doubt about it.

hitman_hatton1 wrote:

Jesus wrote:"The last talk we had with the Klitschko brothers was regarding Vitali because the WBC and WBA are the two major titles are far as we're concerned. Vital holds the most significant belt in our eyes," Booth said.

rubbish.

f*cking claptrap comment that one.

hopefully the negotiations go smoother with the klitschko's this time round.

wlad-haye is the fight i'm most looking forward to right now.

i agree. while vitali may be the better fighter, wlad is pretty much regarded as the top heavyweight now. some of the fights have been appalling, but he's on a fine run incl wins over brock, chambers, ibragimov and chagaev.

i can see why haye and booth may prefer vitali - probably a slightly bigger name, the lennox lewis angle, and the last of the klitschko brothers to land a major US TV date.

the talk of belts is a load of shite, it seems.

MightyWarrior wrote:Booth needs to get off his high horse, and platform shoes, and make the Wlad fight ASAP.

Any heavy fight is a big risk for Haye, more so with that less than stella chin, so the chances of blowing a massive Wlad payday is just UNTHINKABLE.

We've seen it happen before, especially at heavyweight, when a "warm up" turns into a life changing disaster - Morrision...and that poor bloke who turned down a Foreman payday, for "just one more warm up please..." and then got cold cocked, never to be heard from again.

And the thing about a Wlad fight is, unlike Vitali, it actually looks a winnable fight for Haye. If he can land that right hand on a vet like Ruiz, who was looking out for the right hand, then he can possibly do the same thing to Wlad.

I think they'll make the Wlad fight next, no doubt about it.

i think they should take the wlad fight. wlad's mandatory will likely be put off, paid to step aside or whatever. and valuev is being lined up for haye, it seems. i think it's time to take the fight.

Ian 'Mr' McNeilly wrote:

Adamj1987 wrote:

sg1985 wrote:

Wlad 1 Haye 0

indeed i dont have time to read that i need a video

Trust me young un, time is not something a man with nearly 31000 posts is short of.

WTF - how on earth has this geezer managed to overtake me! I thought I was the saddest bugger on here - clearly no longer.

anyway, i think booth was just firing back, especially on the issue of wlad speaking on the boxing fans' behalf. i don't think he really wants the klitschko bros to fight each other, because then haye would have no big fight to look forward to.

haye may have pulled out of a deal to fight the bros before, but it does seem like the bros can't make their mind up. it's getting a bit silly. one week, one calls him out. the next week, the other one calls him out. it seems the k2 bros have settled on wlad.

hopefully these negotiations that are starting this week or whenever prove to be productive. haye is in a better position to negotiate now that he has a title and a successful first defense in which he showed some power. but this also means it should be damn hard to iron out a deal in which both sides are happy.

you just know that wlad will likely want home advantage (ok, maybe) plus rematch clauses for both him and his brother (almost certain). this latter might be a pain in the neck, as he also owes a fight to sauerland doesn't he?

also, TV money will surely be a big issue. if wlad fights haye, it'll be the first time HBO have been on board for a while. haye will be a considerable reason if they do get involved. will haye want a chunk of the german TV money, will wlad want a chnk of the UK PPV?