Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye will finally fight this summer, according to the Ukrainian boxer. Photograph: Martin Meissner/AP David Haye will fight Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF and WBO heavyweight champion, this summer in Germany after the boxers agreed a deal to stage their highly anticipated bout.
Haye told the BBC that the fight was secured late on Saturday, confirming: "I finally had that contract in front of me and I couldn't wait to put pen to paper."
"It'll be either 25 June or 2 July, either date is fine by me," he said. "It's the fight every boxing fan has to see and every sports fan. He is ranked by many as the best heavyweight in the world – in front of myself, even though I'm the WBA champion."
The fight looks set to take place in Germany, where the Ukrainian Klitschko has a huge following.
On the negotiation process, Haye said: "He wanted all these little things – he's a bit precious, is Wladimir, so I gave him all these little things to make him feel like he'd got a mental edge.
"The terms were right, it's a fair deal – it's a 50-50 split, that's what they wanted and that's what I wanted. I'll just make sure the referee can count to 10, then I'm the new unified heavyweight champion of the world. Here it is – end of June, beginning of July – let's get ready to rumble."
Haye claims he has already embarked on his preparations. "I've been training, I've been out in Miami and done two months of hardcore conditioning, ready for the hardcore boxing training," he said. "I'm firing on all cylinders, I can't wait to get Wladimir in that ring – it's the fight I've wanted for so long."
"I am really pleased we have closed a deal on this fight," Klitschko told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. The boxer's manager, Bernd Boente, said the bout was "99% sealed".
On Saturday, Klitschko pulled out of a title defence against the British fighter Dereck Chisora scheduled for 30 April after failing to recover from a torn abdominal muscle.
"I am very sorry about cancelling the fight – especially for all fans in the already sold-out arena in Mannheim," said Klitschko. "However, I am optimistic that soon we'll have an event in Mannheim."
Boente said the Haye fight could take place at one of the three football stadiums in Germany – Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen or Kaiserslautern.
A back injury forced Haye, the WBA champion, to withdraw from a fight with Wladimir Klitschko in 2009. Haye has said he would like to fight the older Klitschko brother, Vitali, before retiring.
Vitali defends his WBC heavyweight title against the Cuban Odlanier Solís on 19 March in Cologne.
Matthew Hatton, right, lost on points against Saúl Alvarez. Photograph: Jason Redmond/Action Images Matthew Hatton failed in his bid to emulate his brother Ricky by becoming a world champion after losing a unanimous points decision to Saúl Alvarez in Saturday's WBC light-middleweight title fight in California.
Alvarez was never troubled during the fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim and deservedly claimed a 119-108 decision to underline the 20-year-old's reputation as an emerging force.
Hatton was the heavy underdog going into the contest against the prodigiously-talented Mexican, who is now unbeaten in 37 contests since turning professional as a 15-year-old, knocking out 26 opponents. The result means Alvarez is the youngest man to win a belt previously held by such luminaries as Tommy Hearns, Oscar de la Hoya, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr – and which was vacated by Manny Pacquiao last month.
Hatton, the European welterweight champion, had hoped his greater experience in a 47-bout career spanning the past decade would prove decisive, but as it turned out Alvarez had the edge from the opening bell, landing a flurry of head shots as the 29-year-old Hatton failed to win a single round.
The fight took place at a catchweight of 150lbs – 4lbs inside the light-middleweight division's 11-stone limit. Alvarez missed the weight by 1.4 pounds at Friday's weigh-in, meaning he stands to lose 30% of his fight purse.
It also opened the door for the smaller Hatton to stand behind a legitimate reason to pull out of the fight but he had no regrets about going ahead with the bout – although he confirmed that he would now be returning to more familiar territory.
"He's a fantastic fighter but he was just too big," Hatton said. "He never really hurt me. It was just a size difference. I want to go back down to my natural weight at welterweight and hopefully I'll get another shot there. When you get an opportunity to fight for a title, you can't turn it down."
Alvarez was never troubled during the fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim and deservedly claimed a 119-108 decision to underline the 20-year-old's reputation as an emerging force.
Hatton was the heavy underdog going into the contest against the prodigiously-talented Mexican, who is now unbeaten in 37 contests since turning professional as a 15-year-old, knocking out 26 opponents. The result means Alvarez is the youngest man to win a belt previously held by such luminaries as Tommy Hearns, Oscar de la Hoya, Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr and which was vacated by Manny Pacquiao last month.
Hatton, the European welterweight champion, had hoped his greater experience in a 47-bout career spanning the past decade would prove decisive, but as it turned out Alvarez had the edge from the opening bell, landing a flurry of head shots as the 29-year-old Hatton failed to win a single round.
The fight took place at a catchweight of 150lbs 4lbs inside the light-middleweight division's 11-stone limit. Alvarez missed the weight by 1.4 pounds at Friday's weigh-in, meaning he stands to lose 30% of his fight purse.
It also opened the door for the smaller Hatton to stand behind a legitimate reason to pull out of the fight but he had no regrets about going ahead with the bout although he confirmed that he would now be returning to more familiar territory.
"He's a fantastic fighter but he was just too big," Hatton said. "He never really hurt me. It was just a size difference. I want to go back down to my natural weight at welterweight and hopefully I'll get another shot there. When you get an opportunity to fight for a title, you can't turn it down." Matthew Hatton, right, lost on points against Saúl Alvarez. Photograph: Jason Redmond/Action Images Matthew Hatton failed in his bid to emulate his brother Ricky by becoming a world champion after losing a unanimous points decision to Saúl Alvarez in Saturday's WBC light-middleweight title fight in California.
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