FanNation - The Republic of Sport

Over the last year, David Haye has done anything within his power to irritate Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. He has insulted them, mocked their fighting skills and worn creative t-shirts with unflattering images of the Klitschko's on the front. But recently Haye has taken a new tactic: messing with their money.

Last month Haye pulled out of a scheduled fight with Wladimir with a back injury. Though Wladimir was able to stir up a suitable replacement (Ruslan Chagaev) in time to save the date (and preserve the sold out 60,000 seat venue) there was a sentiment in Klitschko's camp that Haye's withdrawal had more to do with money (Setanta, the British subscription sports network that was paying Haye's purse, went bankrupt a few weeks earlier) and a rumored weak training camp than any injury.

On Wednesday Haye was at it again, pulling out of a nearly completed deal to fight Vitali at the 11th hour and signing on to fight WBA champion Nicolay Valuev in November. Haye's withdrawal has incensed Team Klitschko, who thought they had a deal to match Vitali and Haye in September at the Commerzbank-Arena in Germany.

"First of all, I feel sorry for the team of the Commerzbank-Arena and for the boxing fans in the Frankfurt region," said Klitschko's manager, Bernd Boente. "We will try to set up another Klitschko fight in this wonderful arena as soon as possible. Also for us, the cancellation was very surprising as we got informed about it through the media. Haye's manager, Adam Booth, did not even have the courage to give me a call personally and tell me about their decision, for me a sign of his inexistent class."

Boente added, "Haye and his manager, whose home base is in the Turkish part of Cyprus for fiscal reasons, seem to have realized all of a sudden, that we have a global economic depression and English boxing fans are not that easily willing to pay 15 pounds for a bout. All the excuses of adhesion contracts are complete rubbish as Haye had already signed the same contract for the fight against Wladimir in June, which also contained a usual rematch clause and a pure Klitschko option. And for that fight he also pulled out. By the way, Vitali and myself attended Haye's last fight against Monte Barrett at the O2 Arena in London. There were possibly 6,000 fans in a 20,000-seat arena. The guy is not a big draw in England at all. We were always surprised that he expected to get 2.7 million pounds out of the English pay-per-view sales for a fight against Vitali or Wladimir."

While Vitali has been mum on Haye's withdrawal, an irate Wladimir has rushed to condemn Haye's behavior.

"During the negotiations for my June fight, we realized quickly that Haye and Booth are very unprofessional," said Wladimir. "Booth might be a good trainer but as a manager he is simply incompetent. David always had a big mouth and tried to offend us with ridiculous self-made t-shirts. But when it comes up to step into the ring and show what he's got, he runs away. He even admits that fighting Valuev is the easier way. For me Haye is a little, inexperienced kid who is afraid of his own courage. Doubtless, my brother would have knocked him out within the first four rounds."

Tactics aside--and there seems to be little doubt that Haye's decision to fight Valuev was shady at best--for Haye fighting Valuev is a brilliant decision. First, let's remember that Haye is a cruiserweight who has fought at heavyweight just three times in his career. It was ludicrous to expect him to walk into the heavyweight division and defeat one of the two best fighters in the division.

But Valuev offers Haye the opportunity to win a belt against an opponent with very little skills. Valuev is a 7-0 giant but he has struggled in virtually every significant fight he has been in and nearly lost to a shot Evander Holyfield last December. In fact, many observers (myself included) thought he did.

Just getting Valuev in the ring is a coup de grace for Haye, who stands a much better chance of beating the slow footed/hand/everything Valuev than he does either Klitschko. If Haye can defeat Valuev, he gains a far more advantageous negotiating position with the Klitschko's, who desperately want to win the WBA belt to complete their title unification.

Bottom line: I understand the Klitschko's frustration. But I also understand Haye's desire to capitalize on his 15 minutes of fame and extend it by taking on a weaker champion like Valuev and, in the long run, earning himself a whole lot more money.