Quote Originally Posted by OumaFan View Post
That's a fair point but would he have come out of the whole thing the same if he appeared (to many fans) as finding a way out of fighting Floyd after the fight had been signed?

I just don't see how this has been good for Haye. Sure he's gotten his name out there but I don't know if in this case all publicity is good publicity. Look I don't really know casual fans but if you take saddoboxing as representative of the boxing community as a whole (which it isn't I know) Haye has come out of this for the majority of people as a loud mouth chicken shit. It just seems to me that going to great lengths to appear to want a fight with Klitschko in order to get your name out there while at the same time hoping that he really doesn't take it, and if he does take it then to fake your way out of it seems a bit of a risky plan.

And I'm still not convinced this will help his earnings that much. Say he would have never have done this, he could have still drawn crowds in England versus the Kevin Johnsons of the world, just an example. Is he gonna make that much traveling to Germany to fight Alexander Dimitrenko, whoever that is? He can make some money against the various heavyweight plodders but I don't think its huge money and he could have always drawn crowds in England anyway. The only serious money fight I see outside of the Klits is maybe if HBO thought it would be a big deal to get him to come to America and fight Arreola. Otherwise he needs the Klits for a big purse.
I don't think it looks like an illegitimate excuse at all and i doubt more than a small, albeit vocal, minority of the forum does either. I think much of the displeasure expressed towards Haye is a result of the fact the people finally had a heavy-weight fight to get excited about. After people cool down a bit I think an overwhelming majority will feel that the injury is legitimate, especially considering how hard Haye chased the fight.

Sure Haye could've made some coin fighting stiffs and contenders in front of 5,000 - 10,000 people in England, but that's nothing compared to the money to be gained through international exposure (TV deals, larger audiences, increased exposure, a higher level of competition etc).

It's not just about money either. Most athletes who make it to the top of their sport want recognition as well. The only way Haye was going to get that recognition as an international heavy-weight champ/contender was by chasing Klitschko. Now, whether or not get actually has to fight Klitschko to garner that attention remains to be seen I guess, but nobody outside of his family was calling him the saviour of the heavy-weight division until he started chasing Klitschko. Regardless of the fight itsellf he now has a much higher level of recognition than he did only a year ago.