David Haye targets Klitschko brothers for "killing the sport"
As usual, WBA heavyweight champion David Haye is being a heavyweight with his mouth.
Haye recently accused Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko of “killing” boxing with sly business tactics and mediocre opponents. He argued the Klitschkos, who hold three of four major sanctioning-body belts,
have solidified a trend of fighting opponents who are not serious contenders but only looking for career-high paydays.
"Basically, they're used to fighting guys like Shannon Briggs. Guys who come to the table and just have their hands out. They're used to fighting these American guys who are just looking for a paycheck.
They're just looking for money to put into the bank to pay their mortgage," Haye said to the popular website FanHouse.
Haye stated his own attempts at scheduling fights with the brothers have proven unsuccessful. He contends the Klitschkos are impossible to negotiate with and that they undervalue him, while Wladimir and
Vitali have said what amounts to the same thing about Haye.
According to Haye, contractual terms for a bout with Nikolai Valuev, in which Haye won the WBA title, were “three times” as profitable as those offered by the Klitschkos.
Either way the war of words doesn't seem to be bringing the two sides any closer to an agreement to fight. Right now there is a situation where the top three fighters in the heavyweight division refuse
to fight each and are taking on lesser competition- meaning that if anything's killing the sport, it's the money politics.
"They don't realize that I can make big, big money in the United Kingdom fighting anybody,” Haye said, presumably offering an explanation for his upcoming 13 November bout with Audley Harrison.
"They realize that they're facing someone who can put more into the pot than they do. It blows their mind. They tried to treat me like a challenger and not a champion. Not a champion on equal parity to
them. Until they do that, then the fight isn't going to happen.” He continued: "Anybody who signs a fight with the Klitschkos are either very, very desperate, or they're just there for a paycheck. The Klitschkos are killing the sport by what they're doing."
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