A Period of Transition in the Heavyweight Division

547By Michael Montero – This Saturday will be an important one in the heavyweight landscape, featuring big step up bouts for prospects from three different parts of the world. In Huntington, New York, American Malik Scott (35-0) faces Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov (14-0), while on the other side of the pond; Englishman David Price (15-0) squares off against American veteran Tony Thompson (36-3) in Liverpool. For Scott, a pro since 2000 who’s been ridiculed for never stepping up, it’s the moment of truth. For Glazkov, a bronze medalist in the 2008 Beijing games, this is his second straight bout on American airwaves and easily the biggest test in his short pro career. And for Price, the 6’8” giant (himself a former bronze medalist), an empathic win over Thompson puts him on the fast track for an eventual title shot.

This is a microcosm of things to come. Things are changing in the heavyweight division. New history is being written, yet old history is being repeated. It’s all part of a cycle: weak, average and strong eras – with the occasional golden era sprinkled in every few generations – only to collapse and repeat again. One could argue that the years following Lennox Lewis’ retirement were an average era, with quality fighters like Chris Byrd, Lamon Brewster, Hasim Rahman, Andrew Golota, both Klitschkos and several others, but no clear owner of the division. In recent years we’ve suffered through a weak era, with the Klitschko brothers having cleaned out the entire division and seemingly no willing, proven, legitimate challenge for the alpha dogs. Yet things are shaping up to start getting pretty damn interesting over the next few years, and fans all over the world are getting excited.

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Haye: I can give Vitali the mega-fight his resume is missing

haye324By Michael Collins: David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) still isn’t giving up in his seemingly hopeless pursuit of a big money fight against 41-year-old WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KO’s) despite the apparent lack of interest coming from the 6’7” Ukrainian. It seems like the more Vitali ignores Haye, the more Haye continues to talk up a fight between him and Vitali.

Haye said to the telegraph.co.uk “There’s nobody else in heavyweight division that can give RTL the viewing figures…But the bottom line is that he’s a fighter and hopefully he wants the fight the fans want. He’s never had that flagship fight, that one mega-fight that people will always remember him for.”

I don’t think Haye would be a fight that would make much of a serious impact on Vitali’s resume to tell you the truth. Having Haye on his resume would be pretty much about the same as having other guys like Shannon Briggs, Samuel Peter and Corrie Sanders.

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Haye: If Vitali retires, I may follow him

By Michael Collins: David Haye wants a fight against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in the worst way imaginable and Haye’s not interested in staying busy while Vitali decides what he wants to do with his boxing career. Haye says might retire if he doesn’t get the Vitali fight. He’s telling everyone that’s willing to listen to speak how badly he wants the Vitali fight. It’s one of those things where he’s totally dialed into this fight and doesn’t want fight anyone else for some peculiar reason.

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Peter Fury hoping Tyson will fight Vitali in March

By Michael Collins: Peter Fury, the trainer for unbeaten #4 WBC Tyson Fury (20-0, 14 KO’s), is hoping that the 24-year-old Fury can jump in line in front of the arguably much more popular David Haye to get a title shot against the 41-year-old WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in March or at some point in 2013.

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Haye: Vitali needs to fight me for his legacy

haye343434By Michael Collins: David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) thinks that WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko’s legacy won’t be impressive as it could be unless he faces his before he retires from boxing in the near future. Haye doesn’t think Vitali has had a true legacy-building fight during his 16-year-old career that boxing fans will remember.

Haye told Sky Sports News “He [Vitali] needs a fight people will actually remember, and the only recognized heavyweight out there is myself. He’s had 50 fights against nobodies. The only fight of his that people remember is the one against Lennox Lewis, which he lost.”

I’m all for Vitali building his legacy but there’s really no one in the top 15 right now that will help Vitali in that respect. Haye has already been easily beaten Wladimir Klitschko, so his scalp wouldn’t be worth much for Vitali at this point. It might have been before Wladimir beat Haye, but not now.

Fighters like Tyson Fury and David Price aren’t worth much for Vitali, because those fighters have been facing generally weak opposition.

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Haye should forget about Vitali and either retire or fight someone else

By Michael Collins: It’s kind of sad to see former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (26-2, 24 KO’s) still hanging around waiting and hoping that he’ll somehow get a big fight with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. It’s pretty clear that isn’t going to happen, and he’s just wasting his time talking about the fight all the time when the signs are pretty clear that there’s just no interest from Vitali’s side.

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Haye: I want to KO Vitali Klitschko in 2013

haye213By Brad Cronick: Former two division world champion David Haye has hitched his wagon to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, as that’s the only fight that Haye wants before he retires. Haye is waiting to see if the 41-year-old Vitali will fight him or choose to retire.

If Vitali retires, then Haye plans on getting out of boxing as well because he doesn’t want to fight any of the smaller names despite the fact that he can still make very good money against them. Haye wants the huge money that would come with a fight against the big 6’7” Vitali.

Haye also wouldn’t mind getting a rematch against Vitali’s brother IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, but he has no interest in fighting Haye again after easily beating him by a 12 round decision in July 2011.

Haye said to the Evening Standard “I want to knock Vitali Klitschko out in 2013. The contract for the fight has been agreed and is there ready to sign. Were it simply up to me, I’d be training to fight right now. Nobody seems to know if Vitali wants to set foot again in the ring, let alone face somebody as dangerous as me.”

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Tyson Fury faces Kevin Johnson tonight; wants one of the Klitschkos next

Tyson Fury faces Kevin Johnson tonight; wants one of the Klitschkos next

By Michael Collins: Undefeated heavyweight contender Tyson Fury (19-0, 14 KO’s) has already counted tonight’s fight against American Kevin Johnson (28-2-1, 13 KO’s) as a victory in the win column and he’s looking past Johnson towards a much wanted fight against either Vitali Klitschko or his brother Wladimir Klitschko. It remains to be seen whether Fury can get past Johnson, but if he does he’ll likely get one of the Klitschkos in the ring because they’re interested in fighting him.

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Haye thinks Vitali will want to fight him next year

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By Michael Collins: Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye gave an interview on Wednesday where said that an agreement has already been made with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in 2013. Whether Haye is on the level with this is still unknown because we’re only hearing Haye say it and not Vitali.

Haye said to Sky Sports News “”The fight has already been agreed, the contract’s done – the money, the split, everything. We don’t need a new contract…In my opinion next year he will want to fight again at some stage and he will want a big fight. I’m the biggest fight out there and he knows that, he’s not stupid.”

Vitali is running for office in Ukraine and he could retire from boxing if elected. As for a fight against Haye, Vitali hasn’t been acting all that interested in fighting him despite having said in the past that he wanted to knock Haye out and improve upon the performance his younger brother IBF/IBO/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko made a year ago when he easily beat Haye by a 12 round unanimous decision in a one-sided fight.

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