Unlike his fighter, Wladimir Klitschko, Emanuel Steward is not trashing David Haye for ending negotiations following Wladimir’s decision to face Dereck Chisora in April. But the legendary Kronk trainer is adamant that Wladimir Klitschko can still fight Haye on July 2.
At press time, Haye maintains that negotiations with Wladimir Klitschko are over. Haye has entered preliminary negotiations to face his WBA mandatory, Ruslan Chagaev, in May.
Aside from having to fight his mandatory, Haye ended negotiations with Klitschko on the grounds that the Chisora fight was unnecessary risk too close to their proposed July 2 fight. Steward disagrees, believing Wladimir would be ready in the eight weeks between the April 30 Chisora fight, and the proposed July 2 Haye showdown.
“Wladimir says he intends to be ready to fight on July 2,” Steward told Sky Sports. “I would like to see it. David is a very talented fighter. I like him. I needle him a lot back and forth because he likes to do the media hype, but I respect him a lot.”
While many see the Chisora fight as a walkover, Steward is concerned. Wladimir has previously suffered several upset KO losses to lesser talents. The most notable was to Corrie Sanders, which derailed a potential megafight with then champion Lennox Lewis.
In recent matches, Steward has been viewed criticizing Wladimir for failing to go in for the kill against overmatched opponents like Samuel Peter, Eddie Chambers, and Sultan Ibragimov. He anticipates Chisora could be another aesthetically ugly matchup.
“To me, the confidence, the ambition, the burning desire of a fighter is a lot more dangerous to me than that of an experienced fighter,” Steward explained. “I’ve always felt that Chisora was a tough fight and I’m really not that super excited about it.”
The Klitschko-Chisora matchup will be for Klitschko’s IBF and WBO titles.
HAYE & STEWARD ON THE KLITSCHKO FIGHT IN 2009
Beats, Boxing and Mayhem 