Heavyweights Haye, Klitschko finally face off

HAMBURG, Germany – David Haye must rely on his blistering speed against the reach and power of Wladimir Klitschko in a much-anticipated heavyweight title fight.

The trash-talking Englishman has been looking for a fight with Klitschko or his older brother, Vitali, since he moved up from the cruiserweight division in 2008. It’s finally happening today in the unification bout at Imtech Arena in Hamburg.

Klitschko, the IBF and WBO champion, is the favorite (55-3, 49 KOs), and at 6-foot-6, has a 3-inch height advantage.

Klitschko weighed in Friday at 242 pounds, compared to 213 pounds for the 30-year-old Haye.

In the customary stare-down, Haye smirked at the stone-faced Klitschko, as throngs of raucous British fans booed and heckled the Ukrainian.

“Me and Wladimir don’t like each other. You’ll see that in the fight,” Haye said.

Undefeated in seven years, Klitschko tends to wear down his opponents with his jab before hammering them with a right cross. Haye said the first rounds would be crucial.

“I’ve got to make sure I land my bombs and he doesn’t land his, plain and simple,” he said.

“I can’t afford to be getting pumped in the face by his big jab.”

WBA champion Haye has sought to rile his opponent in the lead up to the fight with taunts that go beyond the typical trash talk between boxers. Haye (25-1, 23 KOs) has promised to injure him, refused to shake his hand and worn a T-shirt depicting the severed heads of the Klitschko brothers.

Haye claimed the WBA belt in 2009 by defeating 7-foot-2 Russian fighter Nikolai Valuev, whom he had described as a “hairy freak” and a “circus act.”

Klitschko has called the Briton’s behavior “childish” and promised to respond in the ring.

“David Haye will of course pay for everything during the fight,” Klitschko said. “David Haye will be No. 50 on my knockout list. That’s what is going to happen.”

Many boxing fans say Haye has brought energy and excitement to a heavyweight division lacking strong profiles during the long reign of the Klitschkos. Haye calls the brothers “frauds,” saying they’ve kept their belts by taking on lackluster opponents.

While that’s a stretch, it’s clear that Klitschko faces a career-defining moment against Haye, considered his strongest challenger yet. The Hamburg crowd will favor Klitschko, a fluent German-speaker.