By Carlos Boogs
Former two division champion David Haye is backing IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (17-0, 17KOs) to blow right through ex-division king Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 53KOs). There are ongoing talks to finalize that fight for this coming fall.
Klitschko, 40-years-old, has been inactive since losing a twelve round decision to Tyson Fury last November. His defeat was a huge and the first loss of his career in over a decade. The inactivity was not Klitschko's fault. Fury postponed two rematch dates and on Tuesday he vacated his world titles to focus on dealing with the state of his mental health.
Joshua has been destroying the competition. Only two fighters, Dominic Breazeale and Dillian Whyte, were able to last until the seventh round - and they took a lot of punishment along the way.
Haye lost a pretty one-sided twelve round unanimous decision to Klitschko back in 2011. But he feels that version of Klitschko is a thing of the past.
In the loss to Fury, Klitschko barely threw any punches and many felt he practically gave the fight away on a platter. Even prior to the Fury loss, Klitschko had some issues in his decision win with Bryant Jennings - who months later was knocked out quite easily by feared Cuban puncher Luis Ortiz.
Haye predicts the the fight to be a one-sided changing of the guard with Joshua reeling in a career defining performance.
"I see Wladimir Klitschko losing pretty emphatically I think. Joshua is young, he's on the up. He's a young guy, he's a fresh guy, he's got a 100% knockout ratio and he's doing damage - and Wladimir Klitschko isn't anymore. The danger-man that he used to be with that big right hand right down the pipe with laser precision and those quick feet - they are a thing of the past now and he's a shell of his former self," Haye said to BoxingScene.com's Declan Taylor.
"I fancy Joshua to beat him well within the distance. He'll beat him very, very comfortably. He's just bulldoze him."