Set to face archrival Dereck Chisora next month (and the dislike between these two does seem to be for real, not some hype to promote the July 14th fight), Haye has gone into overdrive to promote a fight that has already received an absolute ton of press and fan attention due to what happened at that infamous “Munich Madness” press conference in February. Fans are split down the middle: some see the fight between the two men who brawled with the whole world watching as nothing but a black eye for the sport and have vowed to boycott the action, while others say they can’t wait to see the genuine grudge-match unfold..
Tickets have sold well (well over 25,000 already gone) and whether it’s a good thing or a bad thing, this fight has got people talking. Haye-Chisora is also a pretty tough fight to predict. Promoter Frank Warren has defended the fight, calling the match-up “a quality fight” that people want to see. While Haye, and to a less vocal extent Chisora, claim their fight is far more interesting and appealing than either of the two Klitschko’s upcoming bouts. For once, Haye and Chisora agree on something.
“They don’t want this fight to take place because all it will do is take away publicity from their fights,” Haye said at yesterday’s official press conference, as quoted by The Telegraph. (both Vitali and Wladimir have mocked and condemned the July 14th fight).
“No-one is talking about their fights. People are only talking about this fight and they don’t know how to deal with that. They don’t want anyone else in the heavyweight division making money and getting publicity and they will do whatever they can to shun this event but people want to see this and people don’t want to see what they do – at this point in time anyway.”
Chisora, normally a guy who cannot wait to trash just about anything Haye says, is in full agreement with his rival:
“For once I’m going to have to agree with David Haye, he is actually right,” Del Boy said.
And in my opinion, for what it’s worth, I also think Haye has a point. A good match-up, at heavyweight or anywhere else, is a fight that has as close to a 50-50 appeal to it as can be – and it is hard to pick a winner from the all-London showdown. Can the same be said of Wladimir’s next fight, a return with a man he has already KO’d, in Tony Thompson? Can the same be said of Vitali’s next scheduled defence, against the largely unknown (and virtually untested) Manuel Charr? No, to both questions.
Fans will always watch the heavyweight champion of the world (the two of them in this case), but we all know both Klitschkos will romp to victor in their next fight. The same cannot be said of Haye and Chisora, who both face a genuinely tough night’s work.
For this at least, Haye Vs. Chisora is good for boxing.