Klitschko fed up with Haye's taunts
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Shanghai Daily, July 1, 2011
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WBO and IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko (left) of Ukraine practices with his trainer Emanuel Steward during a training session in Hamburg, northern Germany, on Wednesday. |
If Wladimir Klitschko thought he was going to get a glimpse of David Haye's boxing style yesterday, he must have been disappointed.
After warming up at a public training session, the Briton threw just one punch before leaving the ring, stunning a crowd that included his Ukrainian rival in a much anticipated heavyweight fight on Saturday.
Haye showed no interest as Klitschko started his workout, chatting with TV reporters before leaving the training center in Hamburg with his entourage.
After his full-hour session, Klitschko said he was getting fed up with his opponent's "childish" antics.
"I can't even take it seriously. It's not even funny anymore," said the 35-year-old IBF and WBO champion. "You can trash talk a certain time, but as I said, reality is coming ... and it's serious business. It won't be funny for David Haye."
The two fighters have traded some fairly strong insults, even by heavyweight boxing standards, in the lead-up to the fight. Haye, the WBA champion, has worn a T-shirt showing the severed heads of Klitschko and his older brother Vitali.
E. coli outbreak
In one of his latest taunts, Haye said he was more worried about getting knocked out by Germany's E. coli outbreak than by Klitschko, who has a 55-3 record with 49 KOs.
Haye, a 30-year-old former unified cruiserweight champion, said he believes his presence has made the heavyweight division more interesting, especially among American boxing fans.
"Their message is 'get Wladimir out of this division because he's killing it," Haye said on Wednesday. "It's only now, since I've started doing my thing, that people think, 'OK, let me see what this guy's all about, maybe we've got an entertaining fight here.'"
During his brief workout, Haye shaped up with an uncharacteristic southpaw stance in an apparent attempt to play mind games with Klitschko, who was watching ringside with his brother, the WBC titleholder. When his coach brought out the pads, Haye threw just one punch before taking a bow and leaving the ring.
Klitschko was not impressed.
"I think he sits in the room in the hotel and he thinks: 'What else can I do' to anger the Klitschko team," Wladimir said. "But little by little we're coming to the reality. And reality's name is July 2."
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