Haye v Klitschko: Vitali presence judged a sign of weakness

Boxing Betting / Michael Lintorn / 29 June 2011 / 1

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Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko are united in their contempt of David Haye

"Haye’s latest attack has been to compare Klitschko’s attempts at pre-fight pacifism to “a contestant on Miss World” and question the presence of brother Vitali in Hamburg."

Vitali Klitschko has been alongside brother Wladimir in Hamburg ahead of the latter's fight with David Haye, but the display of unity hasn't flustered the Hayemaker.

David Haye was quoted in one newspaper saying that "the talking is over", but appears to have ignored his own schedule judging by the fact that he has once again attempted to get inside Wladimir Klitschko's head in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.

The hype for Saturday's WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight title unification bout shows no sign of dying down any time soon and Haye's latest attack has been to compare Klitschko's attempts at pre-fight pacifism to "a contestant on Miss World" and question the presence of brother Vitali in Hamburg.

Comparing the two parties' preparations, the Hayemaker said: "We have smiles on our faces. But they are worried. You have big brother Vitali there, not knowing what the hell is going on...not knowing whether he should get involved or not, trying to defend his little brother."

The Londoner believes that he and trainer Adam Booth have "well and truly got under his skin", however it is clear that Betfair punters don't share his optimism, pricing him as the outsider at [2.76], while the Ukrainian is a firm favourite at [1.6]. His confident claim that Klitschko will do well to last six rounds is also doubted, with the 30-year-old [3.4] to enjoy a knockout success.

The Klitschko camp maintain that their guy hasn't been phased by Haye's incessant media campaign though, with his manager instead satisfied that the Brit's perceived ungentlemanly conduct in the build-up has increased support for Wladimir, even on his opponent's own turf.

Bernd Boente mused that: "Wladimir and I were both very surprised how many people in London were congratulating Wladimir for his charming way. They all wished him good luck and said 'knock out the loud mouth'. We all know that English fans are known for fair play and Haye is the opposite of all that. I think that's the reason fans don't like him."

His view that the loyalties of the British audience will be split by Haye's behaviour appears accurate, as Joe Dyer has illustrated elsewhere on these pages.

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Trally | 29 June 2011

Haye obviously hasn't done his homework. The Klitschko brothers are always support each other at the pre-fight press conferences and at the ringside.