David Haye (AFP Photo DDP / Clemens Bilan Germany out)
Haye apologizes before Klitschko
Published 09 June, 2009, 15:38
British heavyweight David Haye, forced by injury to pull out of June 20 bout with WBO and IBF champ Wladimir Klitschko, has apologized before his might-have-been opponent, South London Press reports.
“Our fight sold out in record time and was going to be the biggest indoor crowd in history [for a boxing fight]. Simply because people wanted to see Wladimir Klitschko defend against David Haye – it’s the biggest fight in the world. I’m going to keep beating the drum [for the pair to meet],” David Haye said, adding, “I would like to apologize to Wladimir for the inconvenience I’ve put him through. I’m sure he is as disappointed as me because this was going to be his defining fight.”
The British boxer said he was really disappointed to cancel the fight, but his back injury left him no choice.
“I was a couple of weeks away from the pinnacle of what I’ve strived for since I was a young child. I couldn’t be more gutted for myself, my British fans and worldwide boxing fans. It’s really knocked me big time. People don’t realize how hard I’ve trained my whole boxing career – amateur and professional leading up to this – to know it’s not happening means I have to re-evaluate things. But first I’ve got to get myself healthy so I can train,” he said.
Haye’s manager and trainer Adam Booth stressed that he and his boxer totally understand Klitschko’s decision to fight another boxer – Uzbek WBA “champion in recess” Ruslan Chagaev – on June 20.
“If the shoe was on the other foot we would’ve done exactly the same thing,” Adam Booth.
Meanwhile, David Haye plans to visit Veltins-Arena in German city of Gelsenkirchen and see the Klitschko-Chagaev bout on his own, and says the Ukrainian champ is his favorite.
“Hopefully Wladimir looks good, he wins, and that at some point we can get this on,” David Haye said.
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