After losing a one sided decision to Wladimir Klitschko in early July, former WBA belt holder David Haye is still angling for a rematch, despite the fact that he has since then been offered a fight with Wlad’s older brother and WBC titlist Vitali.
After the performance he gave against Wladimir, or lack of it, it’s surprising to many that Haye is being given the opportunity to fight Vitali at all.
Haye though is still adamant that he would prefer a rematch with Wlad than to take on Vitali, which is puzzling given the outcome of the last fight.
Haye didn’t come close to beating Wladimir.
Other than avoiding much punishment, there was very little Haye did well enough to warrant another fight.
Add to this the fact that there is now zero demand to see the pair square off again, either in Britain or Klitschko friendly Germany, and the rematch seems to make very little sense for either fighter.
Vitali makes for a slightly more interesting proposition since in recent fights there have been signs that he might be slowing down.
The only obstacle to that is Vitali’s September defense against Tomasz Adamek.
Adamek though is almost certainly hopelessly outmatched, even if he does take the risks he has been promising rather than avoiding all contact with Vitali as Haye did with Wladimir.
For an idea of how Adamek vs. Klitschko might pan out, the former’s fight with Michael Grant might be the best available template. Despite winning a comfortable decision, Adamek struggled with Grant’s size and power advantages throughout, and was close to being stopped in the final round.
To have any chance of beating Vitali he will be using more or less the same tactics against a much better opponent, and one that won’t hesitate to stop him given the same kind of opportunity that Grant had.
According to Haye’s repeated statements on the matter, his retirement from the sport is just around the corner, win lose or draw likely after his next fight even if he extends his previous schedule. That being the case a more lucrative fight against Vitali, not to mention an easier match up stylistically, seems the better option for all involved.
