After months of tortured negotiations, a deal is finally in place for a June 20th bout between the current recognized heavyweight champion of the world, Wladimir Klitschko, and British challenger David Haye for a contest that promises to be the first truly meaningful heavyweight fight in at least six years.
↵↵Not since Lennox Lewis fought Vitali Klitschko (Wladimir’s brother) in June of 2003 has there been a heavyweight bout of consequence, and not since Lewis fought Mike Tyson in 2002 has there been a heavyweight showdown that captured the imagination of the public at large. ↵
↵↵Of course, Klitschko/Haye will not be near the gigantic event that Lewis/Tyson was, because even in his faded glory, no one could sell tickets and generate hype like Iron Mike. Nevertheless, Klitschko/Haye does promise to be an infinitely more compelling fight than Lewis/Tyson, because as most insiders at the time were well aware, Lewis/Tyson was little more than an income-generating farce masquerading as sport, a fact that became clear to all observers very soon after the opening bell had rung. ↵
↵↵In stark contrast, the Klistschko/Haye fight features two men in the prime of their careers and has the potential to be a thrilling fight. What’s more, it also could prove to be the launching pad for a heavyweight star of Tysonesque stature. Haye is a shooting star in the fight game -- young, articulate, good-looking, given to outrageous trash talk, and, best of all, a heavyweight. With the sport of boxing literally desperate for a popular heavyweight star to emerge and liberate the division from its moribund era of bland Klitschkosity, many fans will be hoping to see Haye land one of his patented Hayemakers right on Klitschko’s go-to-sleep button, inaugurating the next phase of heavyweight history with a single, mighty punch. ↵
↵↵And whatever one makes of Haye at this early stage of his career one thing cannot be disputed: Haye has the power to make that fantasy reality. He’s shown knockout pop with both hands, and though his heavyweight coming-out party last November against Monte “Two Gunz” Barrett was a mixed performance, no one could say it was boring. In the end, Haye finished Barrett in the fifth with a pulverizing barrage after a rock’em sock’em 13 and a half minutes of bomb-throwing that arguably was more exciting than Wladimir Klitschko’s entire career. ↵
↵↵That said, in the past two years, Wladimir Klitschko has turned into a frighteningly efficient boxing machine under the tutelage of Hall-of-Fame trainer Emanuel Steward. Standing at almost 6’7” and generally coming into the ring at around 240 pounds, Klitschko will have a massive edge in size over the 6’3”, 220-pound Haye. He’s become much adept defensively in his recent fights, his jab is a formidable weapon, and once he starts to measure his man with his straight right hand, explosive knockouts are generally quick to follow. ↵
↵↵Which only goes to say, both of these guys are fully capable of knocking each other out in stunning fashion. Both also have shown vulnerability to big punches and have been on the canvas on their career. One imagines that the way this fight will play out will see Klitschko jabbing Haye to death in the hopes of wearing him down for a late-round stoppage, with Haye in turn laying all his cards on the table early and trying to level the playing field by landing a big, equalizing blow. ↵
↵↵It excites me just to write that above paragraph, to be honest. The fight game already has seen some fantastic fights this year -- Berto/Collazo, Mosley/Margarito, and Marquez/Diaz to name a few. The prospect of a high-octane, high-stakes heavyweight title fight in the offing, and one with the potential to make a new heavyweight star no less, puts me in the mood to say that boxing, often eulogized by the mainstream media, is right on the verge of making another comeback in its long history of getting off the canvas and beating the cosmic 10-count. ↵
↵This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.