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Although Haye pulled out of their fight scheduled for 20 June 2009, a meeting had never really been in doubt, especially after Haye defeated Nikolai Valuev to win the WBA title. But both fighters looked elsewhere, with Haye defending his title against John Ruiz and, more recently, Audley Harrison and Klitschko knocking out challengers Eddie Chambers and Samuel Peters.
There has been much speculation after Klitschko called off his fight against British Heavyweight Champion Dereck Chisora on Saturday for the second time. Klitschko’s team Doctor deemed a recurrent abdominal muscle injury would not recover for the 30 April and a deal was signed later that evening, according to Haye. However the contract specifies that if Wladimir’s injury appears not to heal before June, Haye will take on older brother Vitali instead and a fight with Wladimir will happen at a later date.
Should he win in the summer, stripping Wladimir of his WBO and IBF titles, Haye hopes to unify the division by his non-negotiable retirement date of 13 October, his 31st birthday, and Vitali’s WBC belt would be the last piece of the puzzle.
Haye ----- Klitschko
30 --- Age --- 34
6' 3" --- Height --- 6' 6½"
78" --- Reach --- 81"
25 --- Fights --- 55
24 --- Won --- 52
23 --- KO --- 49
1 --- Lost --- 3
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Haye must first defeat a man who is 3.5 inches taller than him, with a further 3 inches reach, with 49 KOs from 52 victories. Wladimir hasn’t lost since 2004 and has held his WBO and IBF titles longer than any other boxer, both in terms of time and defenses. He is widely perceived to be the best heavyweight of this generation, although the other claimant to that crown would be his brother Vitali, and the mouth-watering fight that would be will never happen as both men promised their mother so.
But it is not all doom and gloom for the Hayemaker. Wladimir is not as fast as Haye and his defense has been to blame for his past defeats. Haye will hope to outbox his opponent, using his jab to keep him distant and his speed to expose his defense and attack his chin.
But the Brit must be wary: Wladimir will not go down easily and Haye has not faced anyone close to Klitschko’s standard in the Heavyweight division yet. His fight with Valuev was for 10 rounds a glorified game of cat-and-mouse, followed by an ageing John Ruiz – nothing special, and most recently just a 2-and-a-half rounds joke with Audley Harrison. Haye has his work cut out, but he is quick, in great shape, and has the technique for the job. If anyone can vanquish the Klitschko’s, the Hayemaker can.
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