Manuel Charr: negotiations with Vitali were NOT delayed because of money

[crold1]

I'd prefer to see a Chisora rematch. That was one of the toughest fights Vitali has ever been in and definitely the toughest since he came back out of retirement. But it does seem Vitali is avoiding Haye these days, I think he's wary that Haye's speed could cause him some serious issues.

he and his bro have to be miffed that the two biggest money foes out there for them right now are fighting each other. I suspect Haye will be done after July. Chisora-Wlad could be a great promotion. I look forward to it.

[ironmike2012]

No one cares about this fight, this fight does nothing for Vitali, he needs to fight Haye and back-up the KO stuff he was saying. The Haye fight would make more money.

[paulf]

I am pretty big heavyweight fan and I still have no idea who Charr is nor have I seen him fight. Should have busted up Helenius in his goodbye fight!

[yoz]

Really wouldn't be surprised to see Haye-Vitali match-up in September. The Charr negotiations might be a smokescreen...

[yoz]

I am pretty big heavyweight fan and I still have no idea who Charr is nor have I seen him fight. Should have busted up Helenius in his goodbye fight!

Helenius only just back from injury. He'd be crazy to take a Klitschko fight without a warm-up.


Still, anythings possible.

[Daddy T]

I think its pretty clear that Vitali is avoiding Haye, he didn't look great in his last bout and has slowed down haye's speed could cause problems. Seems that he is looking for a nice easy goodbye fight before he retires. Everybody knows he'd make way more against haye than some guy nobody has heard of. Pity really cause a win over haye would be the perfect way for the big guy to retire, shame he doesn't want to take any bit of a risk before going into politics.

[The Hammer]

I think its pretty clear that Vitali is avoiding Haye, he didn't look great in his last bout and has slowed down haye's speed could cause problems. Seems that he is looking for a nice easy goodbye fight before he retires. Everybody knows he'd make way more against haye than some guy nobody has heard of. Pity really cause a win over haye would be the perfect way for the big guy to retire, shame he doesn't want to take any bit of a risk before going into politics.

No, he made Haye an offer and it was turned down. Haye was demanding a 50-50 split.

[JAB5239]

No, he made Haye an offer and it was turned down. Haye was demanding a 50-50 split.

Its all "he said, he said". We could take Vitaly's word or Haye's that he agreed with everything. The bottom line though is Vitaly said it wasn't about money, it was personal. And any fight with Haye, even a 50/50 split, nets him more money than a fight with Charr or anyone else out there. Lets face it, Vitaly wants to look good in his going away fight, and even though I think he'd beat Haye he wouldn't look good doing it. All of that is irrelevant though as Haye isn't deserving to begin with, but V shouldn't have ran his mouth about it being personal if he wasn't going to back it up. It was always business and never personal or the fight would have been made.

[JAB5239]

Why wouldn't Vitaly want to give up 50% of the British PPV if this were really personal? Haye isn't asking for a total split of 50/50, just the audience he brings in.

As the topic of a possible Vitali Klitschko vs David Haye fight has kicked up some dust again today, and is far more interesting than the mockery of a title fight we saw in Germany, let's talk some more about it.

Haye has said that Klitschko manager Bernd Boente is the voice standing in the way of a Vitali vs Haye fight, and now the manager has had his say in return. From BoxingScene.com:

Bernd Boente, manager of WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, disputes a Twitter announcement by British heavyweight David Haye, who claims Vitali agreed to fight him next. ... According to Boente, Haye is a demanding a "ridiculous guarantee" and "50% of the British pay-per-view" - demands which the Klitschko side is not willing to accommodate.

Klitschko (44-2, 40 KO) and Haye (25-2, 23 KO) have negotiated for a fight since late last year, as both sides either feel there is unfinished business between the sides, or simply feel the fight is worth so much money that they shouldn't pass it up.

Star-divide

The two fighters seem to want the fight, whatever their reason is. In pure storyline terms, Vitali would be going to finish the job that Wladimir started last July, and Haye would be coming for a chance at redemption. Haye says he's firmly retired, but will come back to face the Klitschko brothers, and no one else. He recently dismissed talk of fighting Dereck Chisora, following their brawl in Germany.

Haye's manager-trainer Adam Booth has said that the two sides have trouble negotiating, which is obvious:

"I've negotiated with them four times now. There's only been one fight. This is the fourth occasion I've negotiated with them, so -- they're not easy people to deal with. But then they probably think the same thing about us."

Unlike most Klitschko opponents, Haye has actual value when he fights -- he does sell tickets, he does draw TV ratings, he does have a fan base, even if diminished now from its peak. The problem is, does he sell enough tickets, draw good enough ratings, and have enough fans to justify his demands? That seems the hold-up now.

Haye and Booth have sharply criticized the demands of the Klitschkos, too, saying their contracts are incredibly one-sided, and it's not exactly hard to believe that's true. The Klitschkos and their team are very shrewd, very smart guys, and are looking to make as much money as possible, like anyone. Gentlemen or not, they're in the business like everybody is. They want what they believe is theirs, and given that they run the division, it's not surprising to think they'd want a huge slice of every pie.