by James Slater – Thanks to both Bernd Bonte and Adam Booth being phone-in guests on today’s issue of The Steve Bunce Boxing Hour on Setanta Sports, we have a little more info regarding the situation with the Wladimir Klitschko-David Haye fight and it’s postponement.
First of all, early reports that the injury Haye suffered was a hand injury have been proven to be false, with the actual injury being a strained back suffered by the 28-year-old. Now requiring some, “aggressive physical therapy,” according to his trainer and manager Booth, Haye will be ready to fight again on July 11th.. Booth, a fitness expert, assures us his fighter will indeed be back to fitness after he’s rested up and then had the therapy (which he will fly from Cyprus to the UK to have).
However, there are many factors surrounding whether or not the big fight will go ahead three weeks later – most importantly the decision the reigning IBF and WBO heavyweight champion will make. It’s very much up to Klitschko and his team whether or not the July 11th date goes ahead, but the TV companies also have a say in the matter.
Booth maintains that a three week delay is, “nothing in the scheme of things” and that if Klitschko is willing to ease up on his training for three weeks, the fight can go on at the same venue on July 11th. But, as has already been reported on various web sites, there is a very strong possibility that Klitschko will still fight on the original June 20th date, and that he will fight one of the large number of name fighters currently being discussed – with the unbeaten Ruslan Chagaev (the WBA “champion in recess”) being at the top of the replacement list.
Bonte, also speaking over the phone, gave his take on what might happen.
“At the moment the priority is Ruslan Chagaev because Wladimir does not want to wait any longer,” Bonte said today. “We waited until June – before we wanted to fight March, April – but because of Stamford Bridge (possible venue for the fight) and the promises we already waited until June. And now we don’t know if he’s [Haye] really [going to be] ready on July 11th – he may hurt his back again and then we have the same problem.
“The most important question at the moment is, is RTL, our German TV partner, ready to accept three weeks later? It’s [Haye-Klitschko] still a possibility, but our first priority at the moment is Ruslan Chagaev – although that also is not a done deal.”
Bonte said TV giant HBO would also have to accept the July 11th date for the fight to go ahead three weeks later.
“There are more questions,” Bonte continued. “Is HBO, for example, ready to do the fight three weeks later? It’s not only Setanta, we have all these other TV companies.”
A complicated issue we have then, to say the least. For my money, it will be Klitschko Vs. a brought in replacement that we wind up getting, and on the original June date. Of course I could be wrong, but Team-Klitschko is already looking at other fighters apart from Chagaev; as Bonte explained.
“At the moment we have I think ten different fighters,” he said. “Kevin Johnson, Brian Minto, Michael Grant, and on and on. But at the moment we are exploring either Chagaev or Haye – on June 20th or three weeks later.”
Bonte added that he hopes to have a final decision he can make public in two or three days.
The original stadium in Germany will be okay for the July date, but as far as the TV companies go, there is much doubt.
So this is where we stand now: either the fight will go ahead on July 11th, or Ruslan Chagaev (or possibly another replacement foe) will step in.
“Chagaev would be a big fight,” Bonte said. “It would be for The Ring belt. I have got confirmation from The Ring [magazine].”