By Mark Vester
Adam Booth, manager and trainer of WBA heavyweight champion David Haye, is claiming that his fighter actually budged to the financial demands of WBO/IBO/IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko. There is only one problem, Booth claims Klitschko is refusing to sign the agreement, but never gives an exact reason as to why Klitschko is stalling
The big issue with getting a deal done was the British pay-per-view money. Klitschko wanted 50% and Haye was refusing to give it up. Now Haye has offered, according to Booth, 50% of the British television revenue. Booth even claims that Haye is willing to fight Klitschko in Germany - if the fight generates the most money in that country.
Booth told the Guardian: "I have been negotiating with Bernd Boente, Wladimir Klitschko's manager, and two days ago I offered him a 50-50 split of everything, including the British pay-per-view money. And that the fight could be on RTL [the German TV station] and could be held anywhere they wanted to make the most revenue, including in Germany.
"Those were the only two points we were negotiating. But [Klitschko's manager] Bernd Boente came back and said: 'No point continuing. Forget about it. You do your fight and we'll do ours.' Wladimir was copied in on all the emails so I don't know why they are refusing. That is the question Boente refused to answer. Either Wladimir does not want to fight David Haye or, maybe, it is because they have this deal with RTL and they want to get that fight out of the way."
If Klitschko does not finalize a deal with Haye by January 11, then he must honor an existing agreement to fight unbeaten British boxer Dereck Chisora. Klitschko was set to face Chisora on December 11, but withdrew with an injury. The contract calls for a 30-day period which allows Klitschko to find a new opponent. If there is no movement in 30-days, Klitschko must reschedule the Chisora fight.
