Boxing News Thread

[heyzel]

Hopkins wants fight with Lucian Bute

By Jim Dower: Having failed in his attempt to land a fight with World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye, Bernard Hopkins, 45, has shifted his attention to the super middleweight division and is now setting his sights on IBF super middleweight champion Lucian Bute (25-0, 20 KO’s).

Hopkins is coming off a poor performance against Roy Jones Jr. on April 3rd, in a fight in which both he and Jones looked and fought their age. In an interview by Greg Leon of Boxing Talk, Hopkins had this to say about fighting Bute: “170 pounds. I’ve done it with Kelly Pavlik and Winky Wright. The lowest I can go is 170 and that makes it a win-win for Bute because after he loses he still has his belt, just like Kelly Pavlik. If he takes care of business against Edison Miranda, which he should, I’ll help him get a legend on his record and based on how I win that fight, he’ll help me create a Canadian Kelly Pavlik. It’s a no-brainer, Bute and his people have to want a real challenge though, they can’t keep fighting the Andrade’s and Miranda’s of the world, so hopefully they want to step it up.”


That’s pretty confident talk from Hopkins. However, Bute is nothing like the more one-dimensional Kelly Pavlik. Hopefully, Hopkins can see the differences between the two of them, because Bute and Pavlik are at the different ends of the spectrum in terms of fighting style, hand speed and power. Pavlik is a bigger puncher, doesn’t move well, had poor defense and can’t change directions very well. Bute, on the other hand, has good hand speed, constantly is in motion and doesn’t hang around for long after delivering his shots.

Bute has a fight coming up on April 17th against the hard punching Edison Miranda. Bute is expected to win that fight. However, Bute had problems with pressure fighter Librado Andrade two years ago in 2008, beating him by a 12 round decision but getting knocked down in the 12th round. That fight was a controversial one because Bute was given extra time after getting knocked down to get back to his feet, and many people thought that he should have been counted out. Bute has improved since that fight, and he easily beat Andrade in the rematch in a 4th round stoppage. In March 2009, Bute stopped the normally durable Fulgencio Zuniga in a 4th round stoppage.

The way that Hopkins has looked in his last two fights against Roy Jones Jr. and Enrique Ornelas it’s doubtful that he would beat a fighter as good as Bute. Although Hopkins mentions Bute in the same breath as Pavlik, he’s talking apples and oranges. Hopkins doesn’t look like the same fighter he was two years ago, and Bute is not Kelly Pavlik. I think Hopkins would lose to Bute even two years ago, but right now, see Bute totally dominating him and making Hopkins look old. The fight will probably be filled with fouls and other such nonsense, unfortunately. I just hope Hopkins can stay on his feet in this one. In his fights with Joe Calzaghe and Roy Jones Jr., Hopkins has been on the canvas for a lot for low blows and head butts

 

[heyzel]

Pavlik: "What Did Abraham, Sturm Do at Middleweight?"

By Mark Vester

WBC/WBO middleweight champion Kelly Pavlik is tired of the critics going after him. He thinks he did more than some of the other middleweight champions in his era, like Arthur Abraham, who moved up to super middleweight last year and current WBA champion Felix Sturm. Pavlik says the critics go after him all the time and they rarely went after some of the other middleweight champions.

"The flak is always going to be there, but if people go back and think about it, Abraham got the middleweight world title by vacancy. He didn't fight nobody to win the world title. Who did Arthur Abraham defended his world title against? What big names did he defend his world title against and why didn't he get the flak? Who did Sturm defend his hand-given WBA title against? Nobody," Pavlik said.

Next Saturday Pavlik steps in the ring with his most dangerous opponent since the 2008 fight with Bernard Hopkins. He takes on current WBC 154-pound champion Sergio Martinez, who nearly beat Paul Williams last year. A lot of people thought Martinez won the fight and so did Pavlik.

"I thought he won the fight too. To be honest with you, I had him by a round or two. I was impressed and I wasn't impressed. He got hit with a lot of punches. If Williams had a little more pop, it would have been a different fight. He does a lot of good and a lot of bad and sometimes his good could be his bad. He punches from different angles and sometimes that helps him and sometimes it leaves him wide open and get caught coming in," Pavlik said.

"He's definitely someone you have to respect and be careful and not come in face first trying to hit him. I'm proving to the people in the boxing world that I'm taking the dangerous fights because I never strayed away from big fights."

 

[Joey]

Berto VS Quintanna...Should be a good one..Lora is getting a nice surprise from estrada......

 

[TrEmEnDo InDo]

I NEED A LINK TO BERTO QUINTANA ANYONE?

 

[surcaliman]

same link u posted for the b-hop,rjj fight.

fights over though

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Ali Funeka Fails Post-Fight Drug Test For Guzman Bout

By Ryan Burton

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal lightweight contender Ali Funeka tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide after his fight with Joan Guzman, which took place on March 27 and was televised by HBO. Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic on the Nevada Athletic Commission's banned substance list. Fighters often use diuretics to increase their rate of urination, which assists them in losing weight, but the use of diuretics are prohibited by the Nevada commission.

The fight had trouble from the start as Guzman was very overweight on the day of the official weigh-in. He was 144-pounds, nine-pounds above the weight and nearly two weight divisions above the lightweight limit. An agreement was reached at the late hour to allow both fighters to hold a second weigh-in on the morning of the fight, with a stipulated clause that didn't allow Guzman to weigh more than 150-pounds.

Now, Funeka has tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic that is on the Nevada Athletic Commission's banned substance list. Funeka faces a suspension and fine when the commission meets Friday.

Funeka made $140,000 for the fight and Guzman was fined 25% which came to around $31,000.

 

[heyzel]

Audley Harrison, Evander Holyfield Chase The Klitschkos

By Mark Vester

The Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, have no shortage of possible opponents. Everyone is chasing them for a fight. Two of the recent names to hit the press are Evander Holyfield and Audley Harrison. On Friday in London, Harrison won the vacant EBU title with a brutal knockout of Michael Sprott. On Saturday in Las Vegas, Holyfield stopped Francois Botha in eight rounds. Both of the fighters called for the Klitschkos after their wins.

Harrison's promoter Eddie Hearn initiated negotiations with the management of the Klitschko brothers on Saturday. He claims the brothers are interested in facing Harrison. Vitali defends the WBC title against Albert Sosnowski on May 29 in Germany. Wladimir has an IBF mandatory hanging over his head.

"The Klitschkos told me that they are definitely interested in Audley. They recognize he is now a serious contender and know a fight with him could make them serious money, especially as we have a near guarantee from Sky that the fight will be shown on pay-per view. Our hope is for it to take place in December," Hearn told the Guardian.

Holyfield's head trainer Tommy Brooks told the Las Vegas Sun his fighter was going after the Klitschkos next. Brooks has worked with both Klitschko brothers in the past.

“They haven’t been fighting anybody,” Brooks said. “The guys they’re fighting are just there for a payday. As we all know, styles make fights. The Klitschkos are both big guys but you know. . .they can easily be beat. They’re like anyone else.”

 

[heyzel]

Cory Spinks Arrested For DUI, Released on Bond

By Jake Donovan

Two-time junior middleweight titlist and former lineal welterweight king Cory Spinks was arrested early Saturday morning in Vero Beach, Florida. He was charged with misdemeanor DUI and leaving the scene of the accident.

Details are sketchy as to what exactly took place, or even if Spinks is guilty of either incident.

According to the online report from Indian River County Sheriff's Office, Spinks was arrested on Saturday, April 10 at 3:28AM local time.

Bail was posted for each charge, with two separate bonds placed for $500 each, allowing Spinks to be released from the sheriff’s office approximately 8 ½ hours later.

The incident comes on the heels of what has been a frustrating stretch for Spinks. The second generation prize fighter has been inactive since last April and has twice seen his mandatory title defense against Cornelius “K9” Bundrage postponed, with no rescheduled date yet set.

Born and raised in St. Louis, Spinks (37-5, 11KO) recently set up training camp in Vero Beach after hooking up with former two-division champ and 2002 Trainer of the Year James “Buddy” McGirt earlier this year.

Spinks’ last ring appearance came a year ago, scoring a well-deserved decision over Deandre Latimore in St. Louis to begin his second tour as junior middleweight titlist.

The win allowed him to regain the same alphabet belt he lost a year prior in the very same Scottrade Arena, dropping a controversial split decision to Verno Phillips.

Prior to his move to junior middleweight, Spinks’ association with boxing history came in the welterweight division. His rematch win over Michel Piccirillo in March 2003 earned Spinks an alphabet title at welterweight.

Greater fame was earned after outboxing Ricardo Mayorga later that year to earn the lineal welterweight championship, allowing him to join his father, Leon Spinks as one of the few father-son acts to both capture lineal championships.

Leon won the true heavyweight championship in just his eighth pro fight, scoring an upset win over Muhammad Ali, though giving up the crown seven months later.

The arrest over the weekend isn’t Spinks’ first brush with the law.

He was popped for outstanding traffic warrants in September 2008, though the sequence ultimately cleared him of a more serious charge, when he was wrongly accused of a being involved in a separate altercation with a woman.

Upon his being released on Saturday afternoon, Spinks was issued a returning court date of May 11 at Indian River County Courthouse in Vero Beach.

 

[heyzel]

Haye is doing exactly what he said he would do

by Liam Fitzgerald: It’s pretty clear that David Haye’s prediction that he would be the man to provide the Heavyweight division with the excitement it was lacking as well as getting it talked about again is coming to fruition. Now, the Bermondsey man receives a lot of criticism as well as praise for his style but I don’t think anyone can deny that he has rejuvenated the Heavyweight scene.


I won’t deny I am a big Haye fan but I have to say that I believe a lot of the criticism levelled at him is misguided. It’s understandable how his arrogance annoys plenty of people but sometimes I believe this leads his ‘haters’ to make up ridiculous arguments against him.

One of these arguments is that Haye isn’t yet worthy to face the Klitschko brothers which I find astonishing. Firstly, Haye was the undisputed Cruiserweight champion of the world before moving up to Heavyweight permanently and as a result, in this day and age it is not unreasonable for the champion to get a title shot straight away. Times have changed and it’s no longer as necessary to prove yourself at a new weight before fighting for titles, like Evander Holyfield did. Then people question the opponents he has faced. Have you seen the Heavyweight division recently? It’s hardly bursting with talent! Main contenders like Kevin Johnson and Eddie Chambers were shown up badly when they went into the ring with the brothers and neither of them had done much to get their title shot. Ok Monte Barrett is not an elite level fighter but Valuev and Ruiz have been major players in the Heavyweight scene of recent years and both were disposed of by Haye. I thought his tactics were spot on against the giant Russian whilst he was at his explosive best against Ruiz recently.

The most recent argument is that the Klitschko’s would destroy Haye if he fought the way he did vs. Ruiz. The answer to this though is that we will see a different Haye when he is in with Wladimir or Vitali. Listen, after not taking many risks and relying on tactics to beat Valuev, Haye knew that he needed an emphatic win over Ruiz to prove himself as a world champion. A points win over an aging, yet still dangerous fighter, would not have helped to justify his claims of being one of the most exciting fighters on the planet. Therefore, he had to go for a KO to send a message and so in doing this he became more lax defensively. And the tactics worked. But he knows that it would be suicidal to fight in this risky way against either brother and it’s ridiculous to think that Haye will be anything like he was last Saturday defensively.

Haye will probably need to mix his natural brawling style with the same movement from the Valuev fight if he is to beat either brother in my view. It is crucial not to let either Klitschko, especially Wladimir, to control the fight behind their jab and movement will be key in doing this. Luckily for Haye he is a lot quicker than their recent opponents and so should do a more effective job of this than they have. However, it’s equally important that Haye can get close enough to throw his bombs because a KO is without doubt the easier method of beating the brothers. Once again, Haye is more likely to succeed in this area than the likes of Kevin Johnson and Eddie Chambers because he hits a lot harder. Therefore, he should pose a bigger threat than they have had to contend with recently.

The best thing about these match ups are that neither man would be overwhelming favourite. The Klitschko’s have always been favoured in their recent contests but Haye possesses the tools to cause an upset and win. I personally think he is great for boxing because he talks a good fight but more often than not delivers. Those who question his chin exaggerate the issue as he has only officially been down 3 times in his career and twice has shown the heart to go on and win. Even the Thompson stoppage was mainly down to fatigue as opposed to being completely gun shy. And even so this aspect just makes his fights even more exciting! I really hope he goes on to beat the brothers because I think he is such an exciting prospect who most importantly entertains. I won’t deny my view is slightly biased but I just feel that some of the criticism levelled at him is unfair and baseless. Feel free to agree/disagree with my opinions

 

[heyzel]

Wladimir Klitschko: "Haye, Don't Be a Coward and Run

Boxing fans worldwide want to see one fight: IBF, WBO and IBO World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko against WBA World Heavyweight Champion David Haye. Now, triple champion Klitschko is taking action and officially calls out David Haye in a video message. Haye has already pulled out of fights with the Klitschko brothers twice. Watch the video on www.youtube.com/klitschkochannel, www.klitschko.com and the official Klitschko Facebook page.

Here is what Wladimir addresses in his message to David Haye:

“I want to send this message to boxing fans and directly to David Haye. David, you've bitched out on fighting both Klitschko brothers twice already and now's the time to make it happen. On behalf of the boxing fans around the world, I am officially calling you out to fight me. You can't run away from me forever and you need to follow through with this fight if you want to be respected. I'm ready!!! What're you waiting for

 

[heyzel]

Will Mayweather opt to fight a rematch with Mosley rather than face Pacquiao?

By Eric Thomas: Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going to be getting a big payday against Shane Mosley in their May 1st bout, no matter what happens in the fight. There’s a rematch clause built into the contract in the event that Mayweather loses the fight, Mosley will have to give him an immediate rematch rather than moving on to a mega fight against Manny Pacquiao. Now Mayweather is talking about perhaps fighting a rematch with Mosley even if he beats him.


So instead of Mayweather moving on and trying to line up a fight with Pacquiao, he’s talking about fighting another big money fight against Mosley. Pacquiao would then have to wait a six months to a year before Mayweather would be free to fight him, provided that he beats Mosley for a second time. Mayweather says he only fights once a year, so it’s likely that Pacquiao would have to cool his jets for at least a year before he’d be able to fight Mayweather.

That might be asking a lot of Pacquiao since there really isn’t too many opponents out there in the welterweight division for him to fight other than Andre Berto. Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum would like to match Pacquiao with fellow Top Rank fighter Antonio Margarito, but that’s a fight that might never happen if Margarito doesn’t get his boxing license back.

Would Pacquiao be willing to wait around for a year or maybe more for Mayweather if there’s no one interesting for him to fight? Pacquiao is talking retirement now, and has serious political ambitions as well. It would seem that Mayweather is assuming a lot by making Pacquiao wait around for such a long time.

On one hand, Pacquiao might retire and move on. And you never know whether the boxing public will still be interested in seeing Pacquiao-Mayweather a year or more from now. Mayweather could really stink up the joint in two fights against Mosley and Pacquiao might look equally bad against someone as well. And there’s always the chance that both Mayweather and Pacquiao could get beat. It’s highly unlikely with their talent, but it’s possible. Both of them are over 30, and anything can happen once you start getting up there in age.

 

[heyzel]

Will Amir Khan become one of HBO’s house fighters if he beats Malignaggi?

By William Mackay: On May 15th, World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Amir Khan (22-1, 16 KO’s) will make his U.S. debut against Paulie Malignaggi at New York’s Madison Square Garden, in New York. Khan, 23, hasn’t proven much at light welterweight aside from beating Andriy Kotelnik and Dmitri Salita, neither of which are considered to be dangerous fighters.


Yet Khan finds himself fighting on HBO, and will get a lot of publicity for a fight against Malignaggi, the former International Boxing Federation champion at one time. Khan has proven to have problems taking on big punchers and there are serious questions as to whether he has the chin to be a top fighter in the light welterweight division.

Although Khan holds a title at this time, there are many boxing fans who feel that he did it the easy way by taking on Kotelnik, who some people felt was a paper champion, rather than the much more dangerous Timothy Bradley and Juan Urango. If HBO is going to be showing Khan’s fights on a regular basis, they could be making a calculated mistake if he proves to be too weak in the chin to hold down his title for very long.

Khan could probably hold onto his WBA crown for a little while as long as he’s not put in with a big puncher like WBA light welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidana (28-1, 27 KO’s) or skilled fighters such as Devon Alexander and Bradley, but once he’s matched against those guys, I have a feeling that his WBA title will be gone in no time flat. And all his fights that will have been shown HBO will be wasted.

The sooner Khan faces someone like Maidana the better. At least if he gets taken out, it will be time saved instead of wasted in showing a bunch of his fights against fighters that are over-matched and unprepared. I think Khan’s fight against Malignaggi is total waste, because it’s not a good test for his chin and it’s going to make a lot of people think he’s the real deal. But when he’s eventually put in with a big puncher like Maidana, all those news fans of Khan will probably be crying crocodile tears and wondering what happened to their new hero. Nothing would have happened that wouldn’t have taken place if they had matched Khan up with Maidana immediately to see if Khan could make the cut in the light welterweight divisions’ elite

 

[2-0-Sixx]

Wlad Klitschko officially calling out david haye (30 second video)

 

[MOREBASS]

^ That was sick! No bitch trash talk, straight to the point. That is probably one of the very very few HW fights I would pay to see.

 

[Tony]

If Holyfield did fight one of the Klits, I would hope he'd fight the one that starts with the W. Vitali would give a prime Holyfield fits and this version would have tons of trouble with Vitali. He's too big and moves too much for Holyfield.

 

[2-0-Sixx]

both klitschko's would destroy evander at this point. Prime holyfield KO's wlad though.

It's gotta be Haye next for Wlad. Hopefully Solis for Vitali after their next fights (vitali is fighting some bum and Solis has been ordered to fight Valuev, perfect set up).

 

[heyzel]

wlad don't want it I got haye in a 8 rd ko

 

[heyzel]

Booth suggests that Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko fight each other first with Haye fi

Adam Booth, the trainer/manager for World Boxing Association heavyweight champion David Haye says that they’ll be deciding in the next few days who they plan on fighting next. It’s unclear if it will be IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko or someone else. Earlier today, Wladimir sent a video message to various websites in which he called Haye out, telling him to fight him next. In an article at Sky Sports, Booth says “I had a call from their [the Klitschko brothers] last week just after David’s win over [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 [the manager for the Klitschkos] a call. We’re not far away, that’s for sure.”


It looks like Booth sees Haye as being in the power position in terms of a Klitschko fight. In contrast to the way that Haye earlier had pursued Klitschko, it now seems strange that Haye and Booth aren’t overjoyed with the thought of facing Wladimir. This, after all, is what Haye has been talking about for ages in calling out Wladimir. He finally gets his wish, and his manager/trainer won’t commit verbally. I don’t like the sound of things.

It might be difficult to put together a fight a fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Haye. If Haye sees himself as the main attraction, he might end up wanting a better deal than Klitschko, or least a 50-50 deal. Will Klitschko go for that? Given that Haye has only fought four times at heavyweight against Tomasz Bonin, Monte Barrett, Nikolay Valuev and John Ruiz, it would seem bizarre for him to see himself in the position of power in negotiations with either of the Klitschko brothers.

Booth says “Maybe on behalf of 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 [mother] 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 balls in our court and that’s where we like it.”

Wow! Booth sounds like Haye is the one calling the shots. If I was Wladimir, I’d forget all about Haye unless he’s willing to take a much smaller cut. He doesn’t have the experience to be calling the shots. Wladimir needs to say what kind of cut of the revenue he wants and if Haye doesn’t go for it, then just move on. That’s what I would do.

Let Haye continue to fight Barrett, Valuev and Bonin until he’s 31, and then he can retire. But I wouldn’t give him a 50-50 deal, no way. I’d tell him to take a walk. What’s weird is that Haye was talking about wanting to fight both Klitschko brothers, but now Booth is suggesting that he wants Haye to fight only one of the brothers so he can get a chance to get both titles at once. What happened to fighting both of them?

I know he’s probably teasing, but I think he would like to have it easy for Haye, so he doesn’t have to work harder. It doesn’t matter. I have serious doubts that they’ll be able to even put together a fight, much less win one against either of them. I give Haye like a 3% chance of beating Wladimir and 0% of beating Vitali. No way will he beat Vitali, but I think he has a sliver of a chance of beating Wladimir. We’re talking really small, though, because Haye is too short, too wide defensively and he throws these god awful amateurish looking haymakers that will leave him wide open for Wladimir’s left hook and right hand.

I expect Haye to fight like a timid rabbit if he ever does fight Wladimir, but I doubt it’s going to get to that point because I can’t see the fight getting through the negotiation stage. This will be just like the failed fight between Vitali and Valuev, but worse. Haye is probably going to want a ton of money and Wladimir won’t go for it and thus Haye will have to be satisfied ending his career at 31 having not faced the Klitschko brothers. I think Haye might have a better chance of negotiating a deal with Vitali, because I think he wants to fight Haye no matter what. But Wladimir, who has been the best heavyweight in the division for the past four years, probably won’t go along with a fight between him and Haye unless he gets the king’s share of the purse.

 

[heyzel]

Devon Alexander wants Kotelnik, the only fighter to beat Maidana

By Sean McDaniel: In more of a sign that Marcos Maidana is the most popular fighter in the light welterweight division, recently spurned IBF/WBC light welterweight champion Devon Alexander (20-0, 13 KO’s) wants to go after former World Boxing Association light welterweight champion Andriy Kotelnik (31-3-1, 13 KO’s) for his next fight. The 32-year-old Kotelnik, a 2000 Olympian for Ukraine, is the only fighter ever to beat the hard-hitting Maidana, beating him by a questionable 12 round split decision a year ago in February. The fight took place in Germany, where Kotelnik now fights and for a lot of people, they felt that Maidana had done enough to get the win.


The fight was very close, however, because Kotelnik chose to rarely engage Maidana and stayed on the outside flicking his powerful jab all night long. Maidana landed the harder shots and took over – or appeared to – the fight in the past six rounds to badly punish Kotelnik with hard punches to the head and body. Kotelnik getting the decision really wasn’t all that surprising, through, because it’s often difficult for visiting fighters to win decisions, even in one-sided fights. In this case, it was a fairly close fight with Maidana looking to me to have won the fight by an 8-4 margin.

Alexander was recently working on fighting Maidana next. However, Maidana’s people did an about face and chose instead to fight WBO light welterweight champion Timothy Bradley in a fight that will be shown on HBO in June. You can’t blame Maidana for choosing Bradley, because for one HBO was very interested in having the fight put together with the two fighters.

Bradley is considered by many people to be the best fighter in the light welterweight division. It’s a win-win situation for Maidana no matter what happens in the fight. A fight against a skilled and popular fighter like Bradley is a feather in the cap for Maidana, because he can learn a lot from that fight. Bradley has tools to make Maidana a better fighter by the time it ends. There’s no telling who will that fight, but it’s probably the best one that can be put together right now in the division.

In an interview of Kevin Cunningham, the trainer of Alexander, by Greg Leon of Boxing Talk, Cunningham says “Since Devon had the Marcos Maidana fight taken away from him, we want the guy who beat Maidana, the former champion Kotelnik…Maidana lost to the guy. Let’s see what Devon does to him.”

The fight hardly needs to be made, because besides the questionable nature of Kotelnik’s win over Maidana, Kotelnik was beaten by Amir Khan last July in a lopsided 12 round decision loss. Khan used movement, jabs and fast combinations to beat Kotelnik at his own game. Kotelnik is a pure boxer, but not good at moving. Khan simply added movement to his game and easily beat him. Khan, if his chin was good enough, might have been able to beat Kotelnik by going after him the way that Maidana did, but instead he followed his trainer Freddie Roach’s instructions and boxed Kotelnik for 12 rounds.

 

[heyzel]

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

By Mark Vester

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."