Klitschko vs. Haye–Back on in July???

HBO’s Harold Lederman shares his thoughts on the heavyweight bout

“Who will Wladimir Klitschko face?” is the number one question hot on the mind of every boxing fan.

Set to square off against David Haye on June 20, that world heavyweight title fight was canceled due to the British contender’s back injury. As reported earlier on myboxingfans.com, Adam Booth, trainer/manager of Haye, was asking for a postponement of a three-week delay, a time frame when he says his fighter will be good to go.

Thousands of fans are still hoping that the Klitschko-Haye matchup does happen, all clamoring for a “Hayemaker”!  But many are voicing that they want the heavyweight boxing champ Klitschko to fight on the original June 20 date–against any other worthy opponent.

Easier said than done, as every viable heavyweight boxer has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Haye. With the exception of Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago and Apollo Creed, names thrown into the hat have included the “Russian Giant” Nikolay Valuev, Chris Arreola, Alexander Povetkin, Odlanier Solis, Kevin Johnson, Ruslan Chagaev, John Ruiz, Kevin Minto, and even Evander Holyfield!

With just two weeks to go before the scheduled fight in Germany, where reportedly over 40,000 tickets have already been sold, can this matchup be salvaged at a later date?

I turned to HBO’s “unofficial” ringside scorer, Harold Lederman, to hear his thoughts on Haye pulling out of the fight. The popular unofficial judge is always great to catch up with, and an in-depth Q&A with Lederman will be posted soon. You won’t want to miss this interview as the East Coast resident, who will be receiving a special honor from the Boxing Writers Association of America next week, chats with me about his Hall of Fame career and more!

Stay tuned for this full chat with Lederman. In the meantime, here’s a “Sneak Peek” of the interview as Harold speaks about Klitschko, Angulo and his newest award.

Michele Chong: HI HAROLD! ANY UPDATE ON WHO WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO WILL FACE NOW THAT DAVID HAYE HAS AN INJURY?

Harold Lederman: Since it is such short notice, my guess is that they will postpone the fight a month until late July and fight David Haye; I haven’t heard a thing about a new opponent for Klitschko. Klitschko just didn’t have enough time to prepare for Nikolai Valuev and keep the original June 20th date.

MC: LAST WEEKEND ALFREDO ANGULO WAS UPSET BY KERMIT CINTRON. “PERRO” WAS SICK, BUT STILL FOUGHT. WAS IT OBVIOUS TO YOU HE WAS ILL?

HL: Rumors were rampant last week that Angulo was sick. He didn’t show up on site until a day before the fight, missing a Wednesday press conference. He didn’t make any excuses, and never attempted to pull out or postpone the fight. It showed in his performance.

MC: CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR UPCOMING AWARD FROM THE BWAA. TELL ME ABOUT THE ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER.

HL: The Boxing Writers Association of America has had an annual dinner honoring the best in our sport for many years. This year the bulk of the work putting it together has gone to new President Jack Hirsch, aided by Gina Andriolo. This year’s dinner will feature a live appearance by the 2008 Fighter of the Year, Manny Pacquiao, plus Joe Calzaghe who will also be there from Wales.

For those of you who have not yet had the chance to meet the colorful character that is Harold Lederman, know that he is one of the most knowledgeable and engaging boxing personalities you will ever find. His dedication and passion for the sport is clearly evident.

More with one of boxing’s biggest icon’s next week–including his updates on the Klitschko-Haye bout!