Originally Posted by
koppas
Glenn McCrory has got it spot on (via the sky website):
Well there's our first disappointment of 2011! Of all the big fights we wanted to see this year, David Haye versus Wladimir Klitschko was top of everybody's list.
I'm no different to any punter out there and like you all, I am gutted that this won't be happening in April. Gutted.
But, on the other hand, it is great news for Dereck Chisora. I was out in Mannheim for the original date and after spending a couple of days with him, I have to admit, was very, very excited about him taking on Wladimir.
He was in wonderful spirits, he was bang up for the fight and I really did get the feeling - and I said it to Dereck on the day of the withdrawal - that something was wrong with Wladimir, he just didn't look the same. I think Chisora surprised him out there, I really do.
When he and his team arrived in their tracksuits, they walked into the public workout looking like champions; he was full of confidence and seemed totally unfazed at the prospect of mixing it with the big boys.
I think Klitschko got the feeling that suddenly it was all a little bit more serious, not the easy defence he first thought, and lo and behold, that very same night he had a back injury.
In the end as far as Dereck is concerned, justice has been done.
But for the rest of us, it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth. And as much as I like David, as much as he is a friend of mine, I am getting a little bit tired of him not making this fight.
I know Adam Booth has said they were willing to 'bend over backwards' to make it happen, but come on... this is the heavyweight championship of the world we're talking about here!
Let them have the PPV money, let them have home advantage, let them have whatever corner they want, because if David is confident of beating Wladimir, all that will count for nothing when he does. Take the thin end of the wedge - take any end of the wedge, just get it on!
You can forget mandatory challenges getting in the way as well because they count for diddly squat when a unification showdown comes along. Goalposts can be moved, Don King and Bob Arum can get round a table and make fights happen, the WBC and WBA can work together so why can't Haye and the Klitschko's come to an arrangement?
It's different I know, but when I fought for the world cruiserweight title way back in 1989, I got the princely sum of £7,500. I had two managers back then, so ended up fighting for nothing. But it was for the world title, so it didn't matter.
Undisputed
Maybe it is Klitschko, I don't know; we can only go on what Adam Booth says for now, but I know there are two sides to every story and it takes two to tango, but I haven't seen either brother duck anybody yet.
I have known their manager Bernd Boente for over 20 years and he strikes me as a decent and fair guy. I am not saying Adam Booth isn't by any means, but I still can't get over the fact that David Haye needs this fight, the Klitschko's don't.
We're talking about the undisputed world heavyweight title here and right now, everyone knows the brothers are the boss. They don't have anything to prove, certainly not against a guy who has come up from cruiserweight and is yet to prove himself at this weight.
Wherever I go all people want to talk to me about is boxing and only this afternoon I got picked up by a taxi driver and the first thing he asked me was what I thought of Haye.
I told him he was a very good fighter and could be the best thing that's happened to heavyweight boxing for many a year and he just turned round and said 'yeah, but he hasn't proved himself yet'.
That is the problem for me. David needs to do something and I really did think this might be it. It is so frustrating and as Adam rightly says, it does our sport no good whatsoever. And it does David's image no good whatsoever. Sorry, but this won't tarnish Wladimir's reputation one bit.
But if David is going to retire at the end of the year, he needs to do something fast if he is going to leave any sort of legacy behind. Maybe Vitali is the answer, although this doesn't exactly bode well for a fight with him, does it?
As for Dereck Chisora, I think there is a very, very real chance he could blow the whole thing wide open come April 30...
