Vitali thinks "Wladimir and Haye fight this summer in London"

WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has insisted that a rematch with Lennox Lewis remains a very real possibility.
Lewis retired from the sport shortly after his sixth-round technical knockout of Klitschko in June, 2003, but the fight was only stopped due to the severity of the cuts sustained by the Ukrainian, who was leading on points at the time.
As a result, a rematch has long been desired and there was speculation late last year that Lewis was pondering a return to the ring.
Indeed, Klitschko has now claimed in an interview with Today that the Briton is still keen on a comeback and that the only stumbling block to the proposed WBC title rematch is Lewis' financial demands.
However, Dr. Ironfist is still hopeful that a ‘compromise’ can yet be reached.
"There were negotiations with [Nikolai] Valuev, and Lewis, and [Ruslan] Chagaev," he said.
"But, as you know, the WBC leadership has not allowed me free protection of the title and to choose an opponent I want. So I will meet the official challenger for the title - the Cuban [Juan Carlos] Gomez.
"Valuev will only be interesting to us if he retains the WBA belt.
"[Evander] Holyfield has always been my idol but I do not box against my idol.
"As for Lewis, you know, as usually happens, there is bargaining. One side, in this case Lewis, asks for the maximum amount. We referred to the minimum.
"Ideally, we'd find a compromise somewhere in the middle. It's already well known that Lennox began bargaining and was considering returning to the ring.
"With regard to the budget of a possible revenge match, the negotiations with TV must be determined to potentially serve as the main source of funding for the event."
Klitschko also reveals in the interview that both he and his brother Wladimir, who currently holds the WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles, ‘nearly quarrelled’ over which of them would agree to a bout with heavyweight contender David Haye.
Vitali was particularly keen on sharing a ring with Haye after seeing the infamous mock-up magazine photo in which the Londoner holds aloft Wladimir’s decapitated head.
However, while he remains more than willing to step into the ring with Haye, whom he refers to as a 'scoundrel' for that aforementioned publicity stunt, Vitali insists that he has enormous amount of respect for the former cruiserweight king.
”Haye is not just some upstart,” the elder Klitschko stated. “He was an undisputed world champion and his name in boxing carries weight. He is a serious opponent.
"I think he will fight Wladimir this summer in London."




from Setanta