Saturday, February 19, 2011

Wlad Klitschko locking up 2011 schedule, Haye moving on to Chagaev

It looks like the wonderful world of heavyweight matchmaking is again producing a cornucopia of fights the public doesn't want to see.

The Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye fight fell apart late last week and now we're set to embark on a 2011 with lots of fights that'll leave us asking - who?

Klitschko moved on from Haye and will face fellow Brit Dereck Chisora (14-0, 9 KOs) in April. He's also reportedly finalizing a deal to face Tomasz Adamek in Poland in September. That fight could mark Klitschko's return to HBO.

Haye and his camp are livid.

"The Klitschko situation is dead. I have asked Chagaev's manager to supply medical records," confirmed Adam Booth, Haye’s trainer and manager.

Booth listed several reasons why the fight fell through and pointed the finger of blame squarely at Klitschko.

"Wladimir should feel ashamed of himself," said Booth. "There were lots of people that know Wladimir really didn't want this fight yet. It's a shame. It's embarrassing for boxing that the unification fight isn't going to happen now because David has bent over backwards. We've conceded to every single ridiculous demand they made."

It wasn't Haye's money demands. 

"From the start they said ‘50-50’. David said fine, even though potentially we're putting in the pot three or four times more than they're putting into the pot because of pay-per-view Sky box office. David still said 'Let's get the fight done 50-50,'" said Booth.

So Chagaev (27-1, 17 KO) gets another shot at a heavyweight title. He lost a one-sided nine rounder against Klitschko back in June of 2009. He's only fought twice since, beating top 25 heavyweights Travis Walker and Kali Meehan. 

Vitali Klitschko's schedule is open in the second half of 2011. Maybe there's some hope with the older Klitschko brother. If not, Haye says he's sticking with his plan to retire at the age of 31 in October.

A Haye fight against either of the Klitschkos was expected to breathe some life into the heavyweight division in 2011. Now it's time to go back to paying attention to the lower weights where some common sense and solid matchmaking exists.

SofĂ­a Vergara Nicole Richie Norah Jones Nicky Hilton Garcelle Beauvais

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