By Mark Vester
This coming Saturday, IBF/WBO/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko will defend his titles against Dereck Chisora in Germany. The next move for Klitschko, if everything falls into place, is a unification with WBA champion David Haye. Klitschko told British paper The Guardian that he's not impressed with Haye's recent performances.
"It's very questionable Haye will dare face Vitali or me. It's ridiculous with this guy. He did sign a contract to fight me [last year] but then he didn't show up. He pulled out of the fight. The same thing happened with Vitali. Haye pulled out of negotiations and went instead to Nikolai Valuev. Against Valuev I wasn't impressed by Haye. He was running around like a scared chicken. It was the same against Audley Harrison. I guess it would be funny if it wasn't so ridiculous," Klitschko said.
Klitschko thinks Haye is buying his time by fighting in London to prevent his promotional partners from taking a good slice of a major fight. He wants the fight to happen but feels Haye is not reliable.
"Against Harrison, Haye did his show and got away with it. But he needs us more than we need him. He can't fight in the US because [Oscar De La Hoya's promotional company] Golden Boy will be on his neck. He can't fight in Germany because [promoter] Kalle Sauerland will be on his back. So he is sitting alone in London, trying to be smart, but, little by little, he's putting himself in a corner. It's enjoyable to see," Klitschko said.
"The man lies a lot. He and his manager are trying to be super smart but their options are running out. I can't take this guy seriously – he might never show up. We can't even rely on a signed contract with Haye. So who can say?"