Read the debate intro and Sports Geek’s opinion.
Loyal Homer admittedly is not a huge boxing fan. Back in the mid 1990’s and earlier this decade, I sure was. Heck, part of the reason I made my parents subscribe to HBO (in pre-Sopranos days) was so I could watch heavyweight boxing matches when they were not on Pay Per View. Weren’t those Holyfield-Tyson fights great, especially the second one? Don’t you remember having to see Al Bernstein on ESPN every time a big fight was approaching? Since Tyson hung the gloves up, and, to a lesser extent, since Lennox Lewis retired, boxing hasn’t had the same “bite” (pun intended).
In the past couple of months, hype was beginning to build for the Wladamir Klitschko-David Haye fight. Klitschko, unbeknownst to many casual fans, is the IBF and WBO heavyweight champion of the world. David Haye, a newcomer to the heavyweight division, was an upcoming hot-shot who had electrified the boxing world as a Cruiserweight. The fight was to be held in Germany in front of a capacity crowd. (Remember when big fights were held in Las Vegas and Atlantic City?… a debate for another day.)
Due to Haye’s injury the fight never happened. Haye requested the fight be postponed for three weeks, but Klitschko refused, instead scheduling a seemingly less exciting opponent.
And you know what? I don’t blame Klitschko. He was absolutely correct in doing so and had every right to do it.
This Klitschko-Haye fight had been planned for months. Both fighters had been training heavily for some time. I hate the fact that Haye injured himself. It could have been a heck of a fight and one I hope eventually happens. But why should Klitschko have to adjust his schedule? He has nothing to gain. Yes, he would have had a better opponent, but his training regiment was built around fighting on June 20, not July 11.
Say Klitschko injures himself on June 27 after agreeing to postpone the fight the requested three weeks. Is it really out of the realm of possibility that an injury could have occurred? As I stated, he was training himself to peak on June 20. By postponing the fight, he would have had to adjust his regime and who knows how his body would have reacted.
And I have yet mention the logistical problems. I’m sure plans could have been made to have the fight when Haye wanted it to, but plans were already made for the June 20 fight. Tickets were sold, arrangements made, etc. So, they might as well go ahead and have a fight!
I truly hope the Klitschko-Haye fight happens eventually. It could be the spark the sport needs right now. But, in no way do I fault Wladamir Klitchsko for going ahead and fighting another opponent on the planned fight day!
This should be a good fight when they do fight. Bobby Gee Thanks for reading http://bobbygee.wordpress.com/
You think it’s 100% certain they will fight?
To bobbygee’s point, I think that if Wlad Klitschko won’t fight Haye, then Vitali will.
Haye will make for an exciting fight, and he’s the loudest mouth in the division right now. He’s calling them both out, and so one of them will most likely answer.