David Haye Backs Out Of A Deal To Fight Vitali Klitschko!

After months of calling Wladimir Klitschko "chicken" and other disrespectful names, David Haye has outdone himself once again. It began with Haye backing out of a proposed (and done deal) fight with Wladimir; Haye claimed he had a back injury. Fair enough.

David Haye's latest stunt came recently, when he back doored Vitali Klitschko, signing to fight Valuev at the last minute! Vitali Klitschko and Haye were set to face each other September 19. Who's the chicken? Who's the one running scared?

I thought David Haye was a fresh face, who would bring excitement back to the heavyweight division. So far he has brought a mouth - nothing more. David Haye has yet to prove himself at heavyweight. He had an opportunity to fight both Klitschkos, and he blew it.

A Look Back At Vitali Klitschko vs. Lennox Lewis

Would Lennox Lewis have gotten knocked out by Vitali Klitschko had the fight continued? Was Lewis out of shape? Would the outcome of the fight be different had Vitali Klitschko not gotten cut? Who would have won a rematch?

Those are some of the prevailing questions when it comes to the Lewis vs. Klitschko bout. These questions have been asked right after the fight, in 2003, up until this day. I can't answer all these questions - no one can - but it sure is fun to speculate.

First of all, to the questions of Lennox Lewis being out of shape. He was! But that was his fault. He came into the fight heavier than usual. Most people like to point out Lewis was out of shape because he was supposed to fight Kirk Johnson, then at the last minute Vitali Klitschko stepped in to fill the void. This is all true - but Vitali Klitschko was ALSO training to fight someone else at the time. And if I remember correctly, it was Lewis' people who offered Vitali the fight. He took it. This argument needs to be thrown out the window (about Lewis not being prepared for Vitali) because Vitali wasn't prepared for Lewis either. When you're the heavyweight champion of the world, coming into ANY fight out of shape is no excuse. Vitali came into the fight in shape, Lewis didn't. Both fighters were unprepared for each other.

Now that that is out of the way, onto the fight: Probably the most exciting heavyweight fight in a long time. It was full of drama and excitement.

Lewis was no doubt surprised at Vitali's aggressiveness in the first round. I'm sure he underestimated Klitschko's ability, as it showed in the first two rounds.

Round 2 Vitali Klitschko almost got Lennox out of there, landing a perfect right hand which went under Lewis' lazy jab. Lewis hung on for dear life, until his head was cleared. The remainder of the round saw Vitali roughing Lewis up.

Round 3 was much more even. Both men landed some good, solid shots. This is the round Vitali Klitschko got cut in - which, in my opinion, was Vitali's last round in which he had some serious momentum. It all went down hill from there for Vitali. Things started to swing back into Lewis' favor.

Rounds 4, 5 and 6 saw both men landing some clean shots; Vitali's jab was effective throughout - and Lennox's jab started finding its mark after round 3. Rounds 5 and 6, particularly, started to swing to Lewis' favor heavily. Lennox Lewis was dog tired, but there is no question, as the fight progressed he started to land with more regularity.

At the end of round 6, Vitali walked slowly to his corner, while Lennox slumped down onto his stool like a sack of bricks. Both men were breathing heavy. Both were exhausted.

This is where the debate is most heated; some say Lennox Lewis would have inevitably gotten knocked out had the fight continued. Others say the momentum had swung in Lewis' favor, and that Vitali's cut would have only gotten worse.....both sides make excellent points. In my humble opinion, Lewis was gaining momentum, landing with more regularity, etc. As the fight wore on it was Lewis' for the taking. That's what I saw.

Would the fight have turned out differently had Vitali not gotten cut? I think so. This was Vitali's first cut, and it was a bad one at that. It bothered him, no doubt about it. Be that as it may, Vitali did get cut; it's apart of boxing.

There are a lot of what ifs when it comes to this fight. My ruling is that if Vitali Klitschko came out to face Lewis in the 7th round, he would have been grinded down, if not in the 7th round, the 8th or the one after that. It was only a matter of time.

After losing to Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko made quick work of Kirk Johnson, destroying him in 2 rounds. The loss to Lewis actually gave Vitali a lot of confidence. And I think Lennox Lewis sensed this. Maybe Lewis himself thought "What if Vitali didn't get that cut?"

Shortly after the Kirk Johnson vs. Vitali Klitschko fight, Lewis retired. I can't say I blame him. "What if Klitschko doesn't get cut in the rematch?"

I posted the full fight between Klitschko-Lewis - so you can judge for yourself.

Full Fight - Lennox Lewis vs. Vitali Klitschko

Eddie Chambers Beats Alexander Dimitrenko

Heavyweight contender, Eddie Chambers beat Alexander Dimitrenko by majority decision in Germany Saturday, to inch his way ever closer to a match-up with WladimirKlitschko and/or Wladimir's brother, Vitali.

Eddie Chambers came into the fight leaner than ever before, weighing 209 pounds. He also looked better than ever before by knocking down Alexander Dimitrenko twice, ultimately to win by what SHOULD have been a UD (one judge scored the fight a draw).

If ever there was a blue print of how to beat the giant Wladimir Klitschko, Eddie Chambers drew it when he beat Alexander Dimitrenko. Dimitrenko is no Klitschko, but they both share height and reach; Chambers was able to get inside of Dimitrenko at will it seemed.

This win marks Chamber's 5th in a row. Before facing Dimitrenko, Eddie Chambers beat Samuel Peter in impressive fashion.

Eddie Chambers definitely put himself into the top contender mix after beating Samuel Peter - and now Dimitrenko. Chambers says he wants to stay busy before facing Wladimir Klitschko. Unlike David Haye, Chambers has the right attitude.

Before Eddie Chambers challenges Wladimir Klitschko for the top man in the division-title, I'd like to see him re-match the man who last beat him, Aleksander Povetkin. Eddie has made enough improvements lately that if the re-match happens with Povetkin, I'd pick him to win.

Has American boxing finally got a heavyweight fighter to rest their hope in? It is too early to tell - but Chambers looks promising, and I think, is the top American heavyweight prospect of the lot.

Wladimir Klitschko Before He Became A Safety-First Fighter

Vitali Klitschko Has Three Options Open For Him

Vitali Klitschko recently told The Daily Star
that he is interested in fighting David Haye, Chris Arreola or Nikolay Valuev.

Personally, I would like to see Vitali Klitschko go the route of David Haye. If that fight does not materialize, then hopefully it's Chris Arreola.

Both David Haye and Chris Arreola would be interesting match-ups, more so than the lumbering Valuev. Haye and Arreola would also be better opposition for Vitali in my estimation. Although, it would be fun to watch the giant, Valuev get knocked out. I guess heavyweight boxing fans can't go wrong.

In other news, David Haye is okay to come back September or October.

David Haye Still Running His Mouth

After Wladimir Klitschko's dominating win Saturday, David Haye had a few things to say about Wlad's performance. Namely, that it was boring and that he (Haye) is the cure for Klitschko's insomnia.

First of all, I agree with David Haye's assessment, that the fight was boring. He's correct. But Haye forgets, he is partly responsible for Wladimir's boring fight. If David Haye forgot, he pulled out of the proposed June 20 bout with Wlad. It could have been Haye in the ring opposite of Wladimir Klitschko, doing his part to make sure the fight wasn't boring.

After Wlad won the fight, he had this to say about David Haye: "I was really upset that David Haye wasn't able to fight because I wanted to punish him badly. Personally I'm very upset about David Haye. Because of him I didn't fight in March or April when he promised to deliver Stamford Bridge as a venue. But he didn't deliver. He then asked me to postpone this fight for two weeks because of his bad back and then changed it to four weeks. I cannot take this guy seriously. Now he has to get in line and earn his chance to fight for the world title. He has to do that with his hands and not his mouth. We'll get it on either way and I will knock him out in the 12th as I've said before."

I couldn't agree with Wlad more. David Haye is the one who talked a lot of trash for months, signed to fight Klitschko and then pulls out of the fight, supposedly because of injury, when there are reports, Haye pulled out of the fight due to other reasons:

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=20398

And now Haye is back to his old self, talking, talking and talking some more. If David Haye forgets, he's in the boxing game, which requires participants to actually step inside the ring. For as boring as Wlad was, and is, he fights more than once a year.

Wladimir Klitschko says David Haye has to earn his shot at the title. He had his chance. I would concur with Wladimir.

Close your mouth Haye and finally impress us with your boxing ability, instead of your mouth.

Wladimir Klitschko Pissed Off At David Haye

Wladimir Klitschko Dominates Ruslan Chagaev

Wladimir Klitschko dominated Ruslan Chagaev, every minute of every round. Wlad's torpedo-like jab was on display again, as he hammered Chagaev throughout the bout. Ruslan's corner put an end to his misery and stopped the fight at the end of round 9.

It was another bore-fest of a fight hosted by Wlad. Wladimir Klitschko is probably too skilled for his own good; he dropped Ruslan early in the fight and it seemed he could have stopped Chagaev anytime he wanted, after round 4. But he didn't. In typical Wlad fashion, it was the jab, followed by the right hand, over and over again. Ruslan was a stand-still punching bag made for target practice, yet Wlad didn't seize the initiative.

I now know why HBO refused to put this fight on their network. If HBO had any sense, they would refuse to broadcast any fight that involves Wladimir, minus David Haye.

I am not saying Wladimir Klitschko is devoid of talent; he has a lot of talent. I am saying that he is God-awful boring to watch. Wladimir, with his size, speed and skill, should be destroying heavyweights; getting them out of there early, instead of torturing us with his monotinus one-twos and safety first approach.

If there was one thing I was impressed with tonight, it was Ruslan Chagaev's chin.

Wlad is now the ring champion.

I wonder if David Haye watched tonight's fight? I'm sure he did - and I hope he's feeling guilty and at least 50 percent responsible for subjecting us to the Klitschko-Chagaev fight.

Wladimir Klitschko Needs To Win In Spectacular Fashion

I don't know about you but, Wladimir Klitschko has been putting me to sleep lately. His safety-first approach makes me want to watch him play chess instead. There is no reason a behemoth heavyweight (with lots of natural talent) like Wladimir Klitschko, should be fighting like John Ruiz. Klitschko has the speed and power to dominate this weak heavyweight division.

Wladimir Klitschko needs to come out and impress the skeptical fans tomorrow, when he takes on Ruslan Chagaev (25-0-1, 17 KOs).

With the current heavyweight division devoid of talent, this is Wladimir Klitschko's chance to make a statement; his last few outings have been snoozers.

Wladimir Klitschko To Fight Ruslan Chagaev

It looks like Wladimir Klitschko will go ahead and fight undefeated, Ruslan Chagaev June 20, instead of waiting around for David Haye.

David Haye's manager has no qualms about Wladimir Klitschko's decision to not wait around for his fighter to get healthy.

David Haye is shooting for a match-up against Vitali Klitschko, in September.