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by Johnny Walker
British heavyweight star David “Hayemaker” Haye was one observer of Saturday’s WBC heavyweight title fight in Russia between Vitali Klitschko and challenger Manuel Charr who came away distinctly unimpressed with both the performance of the champion and the actions of the referee and ring physician, who called an early end to the proceedings after Charr was cut.
In an interview with the German RTL network, Haye, who hopes to secure a title fight with Klitschko in the near future, was typically scathing in his assessment of the bout.
“It was a fight, a Klitschko fight, frustrating … there were a lot of empty seats in the auditorium,” Haye declared.
“The referee, the Klitschko referee stopped the fight, and he shouldn’t have stopped it, he should have let Manuel Charr fight until he was knocked out.
“He didn’t get the opportunity to, and it’s a shame. Vitali knows how that feels.”
Haye was quick to point out that Vitali Klitschko himself had a title fight stopped because of a cut, and says the champion should be empathetic to Charr’s situation.
“I’ve had worse cuts in my career and they didn’t stop the fight,” says the Hayemaker.
“Vitali complains, to this very day, that his fight should not have been stopped against Lennox Lewis— every day, every interview, I hear him complaining, [saying] ‘if the referee would have let me carry on I would have won!’
“Why not get a doctor that allows fights to carry on? But you know, the Klitschko team, they have their own doctors, they have their own setup … so Manuel Charr had no chance, and it’s a shame.”
Haye is unhappy that, after K2 manager Bernd Boente publicly promised a shot at Vitali to the winner of what Boente called a “box-off” between himself and Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora, it was the obscure Manuel Charr who ended up getting the call after Haye lived up to his end of the bargain by knocking Chisora cold–in the ring this time–this summer in London.
“I wanted to fight Vitali Klitschko today, but Vitali chose Manuel Charr instead,” says the Hayemaker.
“Vitali wanted a performance that would look good for his political campaign, but his performance was terrible. The doctor stopped the match, Vitali didn’t stop it. He should be ashamed of himself for his poor performance.
“Bernd Boente said, ‘David Haye fight Chisora, and the winner fights Vitali.’ I fought Dereck Chisora and I knocked Dereck Chisora out, and he still fights Manuel Charr.
“Boente said that in front of the world media, and I beat [Chisora] a lot easier than Vitali, I knocked him out in five rounds. ”
Haye promises that if he gets the Vitali fight, there will be no replay of his anemic losing performance against Vitali’s younger brother and fellow world champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2011.
“I would throw clusters of punches, I would get close to him,” Haye vows, before complimenting his rival.
“Vitali Klitschko is a warrior, he’s very strong, and he believes his chin is better than my punch.
“And there’s only one way to find that out: in the ring.
“So I’ve done everything I need to do to get the fight — I hope Vitali is a man of his word and fights me as soon as possible, because I know I can beat him and it will be the biggest fight in German boxing history, [one of the biggest] in world boxing history, and I want this fight desperately.”
