by David P. Greisman

They are two of the best fighters at their weight, two fighters who have taken two years to face each other – two years of them being tantalizingly close to getting in the ring and yet torturously unable or unwilling to do so.

Klitschko-Haye will be the latest in a run of big bouts that have come to fruition after prolonged periods of anticipation.

We got the rematch between Sergio Martinez and Paul Williams last November. We got a unification match between Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander in January. And we got a bantamweight clash between Nonito Donaire and Fernando Montiel in February.

We’ve demanded Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. for nearly as long as we desired Klitschko vs. Haye. Could the battle of those two big men be an omen that the two biggest stars will finally share the same ring?

If only.

It often seemed as if moving Klitschko (be it Wladimir or Vitali) vs. Haye from possibility to reality was a matter of assuaging one ego, rather than two.

It was Haye who had agreed to fight Wladimir in 2009, only to pull out with what some believed was a dubious injury.

It was Haye who had then negotiated to fight Vitali and seemed on course to do so, only to completely change direction and instead sign to face Nicolay Valuev.

And it was Haye who then spent interview after interview talking about how he would beat either brother, but bristling at the conditions of the contract. He didn’t like that, were he to win, clauses called for him to face one Klitschko and then, in the case of a second Haye victory, the other. He also wanted an even split of all the money the fight brought in.

Wladimir Klitschko gave Haye what he wanted: 50 percent of the proceeds, no mandatory rematches and no contractual options.

Their fight is nearly here.

If only Pacquiao-Mayweather were that easy.

Negotiations between these two best pound-for-pound fighters have resembled the Middle East peace process. They had to find lesser areas of agreement before sitting down to argue over the bigger issues. They’ve each had hard-line stances that have derailed any promises of progress.

They had figured out the weight limit (welterweight), the glove size (8 ounces), and even the money (a 50-50 split), which would be an unnecessary quibble, as both are rich and would become even richer.

All those riches weren’t as important as seeking the earliest of victories at the bargaining table and then, in lieu of that, walking away from the negotiations as a matter of pride and principle.

Mayweather wanted a more stringent type of drug testing that goes beyond what athletic commissions normally require, a demand that came with insinuations that Pacquiao has used illicit substances to aid his ascent. Rather than simply agreeing to those terms just to prove Mayweather wrong, Pacquiao took the demand as an affront and a tactic.

Reports on the negotiations said that Pacquiao’s camp countered with one cutoff date, while Mayweather’s camp called for another. Pacquiao's camp later warmed to Mayweather's original terms, but by then Mayweather's camp had already said months before that it had taken those terms off the table and pushed those goalposts back.

In the meantime, we’ve gotten Pacquiao vs. Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley and, as of this coming November, Juan Manuel Marquez.

And in the meantime, we’ve gotten Mayweather vs. Mosley, Mayweather vs. the law during a post-Mosley sabbatical, and as of this coming September, Mayweather vs. Victor Ortiz.

Each makes tens of millions of dollars every time he fights. Neither needs the other.

Though Wladimir Klitschko is the true heavyweight champion, a victory over Haye would be seen as a crown jewel to his reign, a win over a fast, powerful, dangerous foe believed to pose more of a threat than any of those Klitschko has dispatched over the past five years.

Though Haye is a heavyweight titleholder, his time in boxing’s marquee division has been dominated by bluster. He has defeated Monte Barrett, Valuev, John Ruiz and Audley Harrison. Beyond that, he has done plenty of talking about the Klitschkos.

It’s far past time for him to back up those words. Muhammad Ali could get away with proclaiming himself king of the world – after he shocked Sonny Liston.

Mayweather long ago proved himself worthy of entry into the Hall of Fame, winning championships in three divisions, world titles in two others, going undefeated his entire professional career. Pacquiao has ascended to the status of “all-time great,” winning championships in four divisions, world titles in four others.

They have nothing left to prove to the sport – except whether one is better than the other.

It is a significant question, the premise that is the most basic but most essential facet of sport.

If only providing the answer to that question were the most important thing to Pacquiao and Mayweather.

After each fights this fall, we will be two years beyond when they first began to negotiate. They will be two years further removed from their primes, two years closer to retirement, with two years of stubbornness built up.

The drug-testing issue will still remain. Pacquiao still has a lawsuit against Mayweather concerning those allegations and insinuations regarding performance-enhancing drugs. And Pacquiao’s promoter, Top Rank, has been at odds with the promoter that has handled Mayweather’s fights, Golden Boy.

The bargaining table wasn’t as important to Wladimir Klitschko, so long as he could get the chance to punch David Haye in the head.

Making Pacquiao-Mayweather would be possible if just one of them would give ground.

There’s been no sign of budging; both are firmly entrenched.

For two years, Klitschko vs. Haye seemed inevitable. As the idea of Pacquiao vs. Mayweather approaches two years, their fight actually happening remains improbable.

The 10 Count

1.  As maligned as Floyd Mayweather Jr. has become – and though much of that is deservingly so – that shouldn’t negate a positive piece of news about him:

According to Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, Mayweather is paying all of the expenses for the funeral of Genaro Hernandez, who died last week after an extended battle with cancer. Hernandez was 45.

Hernandez and Mayweather fought in 1998. At the time, Hernandez was the lineal 130-pound king. Mayweather defeated him to earn his first championship.

As Iole said on Twitter: “Classy, classy move.”

2. The metaphorical wisdom of Teddy Atlas, as brought to you by the opening minutes of ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”

It came as Atlas previewed last week’s bout between Kenny Galarza and Irving Garcia. He was prompted by broadcast partner Joe Tessitore, who mentioned that Galarza’s previous appearance on “Friday Night Fights” resulted in his first pro loss:

Said Teddy:

“That’s because he fought a fighter named Solomon, who’s not only a very good fighter, but he moves a lot. Some people might even say he’s a very good dancer, although he throws punches off those dance moves.

“We happen to be in an old dance room, an old ballroom, and I can guarantee you one thing out there – there will be no foxtrots going on tonight, because Galarza is a guy who walks forward and Garcia, his opponent, is a guy who will be right in front of you.

[…]

“I think you’re going to have a fight in this old ballroom here, Joe. … You hear that old saying, ‘It takes two to tango?’ Well it takes three to help somebody with wobbly legs back to the corner.

“Somebody is going to be helped with wobbly legs tonight. You’re not going to see Fred Astaire. You’re not going to see any twinkle toes tonight. You’re going to see old-fashioned fighting.”

3.  Kenny “Battlestar” Galarza might just be the first boxer to have a nickname based on a science fiction television series.

His next bout seems obvious, by the way: Kenny “Battlestar” Galarza vs. Nate “The Galaxxy Warrior” Campbell.

4.  Such a shame that Fernando Montiel, who fights June 25, will be back in the ring before Nonito Donaire…

5. If I take just one thing from the five fights that Showtime aired Friday and Satuday, it’s that I want to see Art Hovhannesyan, who knocked out Archie Ray Marquez, back in the ring again as soon as possible.

I can’t take just one thing away from those cards, however. Not in a pair of broadcasts that had:

- Matt Godfrey going full-on Roberto Alomar and spitting on Lateef Kayode.

- Freddie Roach, who trains Kayode, being among a crew of Kayode’s team members decked out in tall green-and-white hats reminiscent of “The Cat in the Hat.”

- Khabir Suleymanov stepping into the ring looking like he’d dressed up as Mickey Mouse in “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.”

- Richard Gutierrez apparently grooming his chest hair so that it was shaped like a cross.

These are the moments that almost make staying home on both Friday nights and Saturday nights worthwhile.

6.  Two ends of the Boxers Behaving Badly timing spectrum:

“Boxing Champ Arrested After Win,” notes South Africa’s Independent Online, describing how Tshepang Mohale had just walked down the steps and was still ringside when police arrested him for allegedly having a stolen cell phone.

“Montoya’s opponent arrested before weigh-in,” says New Mexico’s Valencia County News-Bulletin, the headline to a story about how Brandi Montoya would’ve faced Diana Torres, except Torres had been taken into custody earlier on an alleged parole or probation violation.

What’s next?

I’m waiting for the day when a SWAT team storms the ring to arrest a boxer halfway through the fifth round of a title fight.

7. Boxers Behaving Badly update: Drug charges against Tommy Morrison have been dropped because the arresting officer – the only Kansas state trooper there at the time of the arrest – died a few weeks ago in a motorcycle crash, according to The Emporia Gazette.

Morrison was arrested in February after the trooper pulled the former heavyweight titleholder over, glanced inside the car and then spotted what was suspected to be eight grams of marijuana.

Morrison had been facing one felony count of “possession of certain hallucinogenic drugs with two prior convictions,” as well as one misdemeanor count of “possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia into human body,” the newspaper reported.

Nice phrasing, Kansas.

8. Boxing Judges Behaving Badly update: Paul Smith, a veteran scorer of fights in Las Vegas, will spend a year and a half behind bars for Social Security fraud to the tune of about $400,000 in improper benefits, according to the Associated Press.

He’ll also have to pay approximately $436,000 in restitution, the report said.

Smith, 66, pleaded guilty last year. The case arose out of Smith’s continuing to work despite his receiving Social Security due to his claiming to be disabled.

Back when Smith was initially indicted, a U.S. attorney noted the number of boxing matches Smith had worked between 1994 and 2005 and alleged that Smith had also been involved with businesses not consistent with his disability status.

9.  A historical ranking of sugar:

- Sugar Ray (Robinson)
- Sugar Ray (Leonard)
- Bert Sugar
- Sugar Shane (Mosley)
- Sugar Shay (Ishe Smith)
- Sugar Poo (Henry Buchanan)
- Sugar Ray (Narh)

10.  Hasim Rahman’s weight for his fight this past weekend with Galen Brown: 284 pounds. Rahman’s previous career high was 264.

He’s no longer “The Rock.” Now he’s “The Roll.”

David P. Greisman is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. His weekly column, “Fighting Words,” appears every Monday on BoxingScene.com.

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