Arreola is a dangerous fight for Vitali
Collapse
-
-
From ESPN:
David Haye and manager/trainer Adam Booth have reneged on a deal for Haye to challenge heavyweight titlist Vitali Klitschko on Sept. 12, and bypassed Golden Boy Promotions, Haye's co-promoter, in the process, according to Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. Instead, Haye has signed to fight titlist Nikolai Valuev on Nov. 7.
"I was surprised, let's put it that way," Schaefer told ESPN.com. "Adam told me it was close on a Klitschko fight, basically it was agreed to. So this took everyone by surprise. It took me by surprise, the Klitschkos, HBO. I didn't know. I was as surprised as everyone else."
Schaefer was on vacation in Mexico with his family when the deal went down and was not informed of it until after it was made, and neither was anyone else at Golden Boy, he said. Golden Boy, of course, would have a financial interest in the fight, but wasn't included in the contracts even though it signed Haye to a five-year deal in May 2008.
"One would think so. One would think that would be the proper thing to do," Schaefer said when asked if Booth should have discussed the plans with Golden Boy. "If you have a co-promotional agreement, the appropriate thing would be to inform your co-promoter."
Schaefer said he had OK'd both of Haye's aborted title fights, a June 20 bout with Wladimir Klitschko that had been signed and the Sept. 12 bout that had been agreed to but hadn't been signed. After the fight with Wladimir fell through, Schaefer said he spoke with Booth and Haye about a possible September fight in the United States against contender Cris Arreola.
"But David really wanted to fight Klitschko. They made it clear they wanted Klitschko," Schaefer said. "So I was really taken by surprise when it was Valuev, because they didn't tell us about it. Am I happy about it? No. Am I just gong to accept it and do nothing about it? No. I don't want David to lose the opportunity to fight for the heavyweight title, so I had a good conversation with Chris Meyer [from Valuev promoter Sauerland Event]. I am dealing with the situation."
Haye chickened out.Comment
Comment