Klitschko ready to hit the Haye

He may be without a licence, and he may have the Munich police hot on his tail, but Brit brawler David Haye is claiming his next fight is already lined up – against old foe Vitali Klitschko.

The Englishman has been doing his best to keep in the headlines since he hung up his gloves last October, although he pushed it too far two weeks ago at the post-bout conference of Klitschko’s win over Dereck Chisora.

Haye tried to call out the older Klitschko brother in Munich, but then became involved in a massive brawl with Chisora, which resulted in Haye being accused by his compatriot of trying to glass him.

But the controversy hasn’t stopped the ‘Hayemaker’ driving the publicity machine into overdrive, now insisting 40-year-old Vitali, the reigning WBC Heavyweight champion, has finally accepted his invitation to step in the ring with him. “Vitali has just finally agreed to fight me in a live RTL interview!!!” the semi-retired former WBA champion tweeted before Vladimir Klitschko’s successful title defence against Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck on Saturday night. “He told me I will be his next fight!! Let’s Get Ready To Rumble!!!”

Vitali, who was ringside in Dusseldorf to cheer on his brother, responded: “Yes I would be happy to fight David Haye. I understand David Haye had to defend himself. It’s not just street fighting. It’s very important to have respect.”

However, a potential showdown isn’t as straightforward as it seems. Haye has yet to get back his British licence after calling an end to his career on his 31st birthday last year, when he maintained he had pledged 10 years earlier to quit at that age. And obtaining that permit will come at a cost: the British Boxing Board of Control is scheduled to talk to Chisora next week about his scrap with Haye, but can’t interview Haye until he has a licence. If they grant it to him, he will almost definitely receive a suspension and a heavy fine, too.

Then there is the small matter of a pending police investigation – German authorities have before jailed two champions, Graciano Rocchigiani and Jurgen Brahmer, for assault after they also were involved in public order offences. Haye allegedly fled the scene last month when he heard the police wanted to question him. So boxing fans, should they actually want to see a man with Haye’s battered reputation – the big-mouthed Londoner lost convincingly on points to Vladimir last summer and then blamed it on a broken toe – fight again, will not be holding their breath.

Especially after Bernd Bonte, the Klitschko brothers’ manager, revealed on Saturday: “No, nothing has been agreed.”

VLAD KNOCKS UP A HALF-TON

Vladimir Klitschko made it a half century of knockouts as the Ukrainian heavyweight sent Frenchman Jean-Marc Mormeck packing in the fourth round of his title defence on Saturday. ‘Dr Steelhammer’, who came into the bout having to field questions over the quality of his opponents, answered his critics with a powerful display in Dusseldorf. Mormeck first hit the canvas in the second round after Klitschko landed a big right, while he simply couldn’t cope with the WBA, IBF and WBO champion’s strength minutes later, the 35-year-old finishing matters with a huge right-left combination. It was Klitschko’s 57th career win.