By James Slater – As fans know, David Haye is at least partially blaming last night’s heavy points defeat at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko on a busted toe on his right foot. Unable, Haye says, to fire his hayemakers due to not being able to fire his full weight off the right foot, the ex-WBA champ is hoping for a rematch. Claiming he will be able to do much better when 100-percent healthy, the 30-year-old hopes he can get a quick return before October 13th (thus being able to keep his word and retire on his 31st birthday).
Klitschko says he is not yet ready to decide whether or not he’ll give Haye a return chance, but due to how sparse the heavyweight division is, and of how few worthy challengers there are, “Dr. Steel Hammer” may look again Haye’s way.. But as soon as October, a mere three months from now? Not likely. Then there’s the question of whether or not Klitschko will want to reward Haye with another chance in light of all the nasty trash-talking he had to listen to for weeks and weeks and weeks in the lead-up to last night’s ultimately disappointing fight. Will proud gentleman Wladimir want to go through all that nonsense for a second time?
Traditionally, a return fight only happens because, A: the initial fight ended controversially (last night’s never), or, B: the first fight was great (last night’s wasn’t). Taking this on board, would a Klitschko-Haye II sell? With the intrigue gone (can Wladimir take Haye’s power shots and vice versa, will Haye be able to make Klitschko fight harder than he’s accustomed?), a rematch would not capture a half of the fan attention last night’s meeting did. Having said that, who else is there for the seemingly unbeatable 35-year-old to fight?
Maybe Haye would be able to fight a little more effectively with all five digits on his right foot unhurt, and maybe he would go for broke in a return. But will the fans trust in Haye anymore? In light of how negative he was for long spells last night it seems unlikely. The ball is in Wladimir’s court, as Haye himself concedes. The champ owes the former cruiserweight king nothing, and he will fit in a voluntary defence only if he sees fit. Mandatory-wise, Klitschko will next have to defend his IBF belt against an Eddie Chambers or a Tony Thompson. Wlad has beaten both guys already, though, and neither man gave him as decent a challenge as Haye did.
For my money, Haye will wind up being disappointed, as Klitschko will decide to move on. Haye will then stick to his October retirement plan, while both Wladimir and Vitali will themselves retire some time neat year; their work done. Last night’s fight was supposed to be a classic. Instead, due to how head and shoulders above every other heavyweight he is, Wladimir made easy work of yet another challenger. How will Klitschko manage to keep himself motivated now that he and his brother have cleaned up the entire weight class?
The heavyweight division will be a pretty barren place when the Klitschkos call it quits. Some fans have labelled them both boring. These same fans will miss them when they are gone.