David Haye and Vitali Klitschko speak out over speculated showdown

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Petra Kirsch – Gelsenkirchen

Prominent heavyweight pair David Haye of London and Vitali Klitschko of Kyiv have reiterated their interest in boxing the other this weekend as the Briton explained via his official Twitter account that he is “ready to rumble” with the long-reigning champion of the WBC title, while Vitali, speaking after the emphatic conclusion of his younger brother Wladimir’s victory of Jean Marc Mormeck, stated he would give Haye a “title shot“.

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Haye struggled to assert himself versus Wladimir but has campaigned for a Vitali match. Credit: Public Address

“Hi everybody, hello to England,” said Vitali (44-2-0, 40ko) when addressing British broadcaster Sky Sports.

With Wladimir’s four round annihilation of Mormeck and Vitali’s own bruising encounter with game Briton Dereck Chisora in February, there are already questions over whom the dominant Klitschko brothers will match-up with next.

Despite Haye’s surrender at the fists of Wladimir last summer in a high-profile heavyweight unification, the two-weight world champion has campaigned for a shot at Vitali… something the 40-year-old prizefighter has oft been receptive to. The duo have their own rivalry, with Vitali appalled at the disrespect Haye showed the Ukrainian siblings during the promotion for the Hayemaker’s bout with Wlad.

“This [a contest with Haye] would be great,” said Klitschko the elder, dubbed Dr Ironfist due to his 86 percent knockout rate with notable stoppages over Tomasz Adamek, Odlanier Solis and Chris Arreola. “David Haye is not world champion anymore. I [will] give him [a] title shot,” Vitali added.

Vitali and Wladimir together present themselves as ambassadors to the sport. The former even has respectable pursuits outside of pugilism as he is heavily involved in politics in his homeland, however, the brawling scene that overshadowed his victory over Chisora – the notorious “glass” laden scuffle between Del Boy and Haye – has left Vitali asking for fighters to respect each other outside of the ring.

“Chisora attacked David Haye and Haye needed to defend himself,” he commented. “It’s bad for boxing. It’s not just street fighting. It’s not MMA. We need respect for our opponent.”

Back to the prospective Haye showdown, Vitali said in a concluding statement: “You never know… in [the] next months Klitschko [could] fight David Haye; I will be happy to fight him and knock him out!”

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