No, this isn’t a post about the Miliband brothers’ tussle in the Labour leadership race. That saga is far too boring to write about. What I’m interested in today is the news that WBA heavyweight champion David Haye will now be defending his title against one of his two main challengers, the Klitschko brothers Audley Harrisson.
That would be the same Audley Harrisson who ranks only 13th in the WBA’s own ranking system. Not Wladimir Klitschko (current WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight champion) or Vitaly Klitschko (who returned from almost four years of retirement in 2008 and retook his WBC heavyweight belt). It’s now looking increasingly unlikely that the fight we all want – Haye vs A Klitschko Brother – will never come to pass. Frank Warren is even claiming that Haye, despite signing a contract to fight one of the brothers, is avoiding them due to a paydeal dispute.
The Klitschko Brothers
Admittedly, Haye vs Harrisson represents Britain’s biggest boxing bout since Lennox vs Bruno in 1993, which is some consolation. But is it the fight most boxing fans want to see? I doubt it.
As an entertaining alternative, now is the time for the Klitschko Bros to put their titles on the line and go head to head. Now that would be a fight worth watching. It’s not as stupid as it sounds either. They’ve talked about this happening several times in the last couple of years – but the final decision appears to rest with Mother Klitschko. Seriously.
We know that boxers and their clever promoters are adept at pushing such stories to generate publicity, but now really is the perfect time to make this fight happen. I kind of get the impression that the heavyweight division needs it.
