June 20th Heavyweight Title Fight Canceled due to Rumored Injury
Reports have surfaced that the Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye heavyweight championship fight scheduled for June 20 has now been cancelled. The reported reason is that Haye has suffered an injury, although no specific information on the injury has yet been released.
Klitschko for his part has said he will still fight on June 20th, and has already begun the search to find a new opponent for the title defense. The fight card is being held in a sold out 60,000 seat soccer stadium, and the fan support and buildup for the fight was reaching a fever, particularly in the UK and Germany. Especially considering the current state of the heavyweight division, the fight had injected some sorely needed enthusiasm for heavyweight boxing, so the cancellation resonates as a huge disappointment.
It is not yet known if the Klitschko vs. Haye fight will be rescheduled for sometime later in the year or what Haye’s plans will be. More information to the extent of the injury will certainly help clear up the immediate future for Haye, the former cruiserweight division champion who moved to heavyweight.
In his first appearance he knocked out gatekeeper Monte Barrett in impressive fashion, and he goaded Klitschko into making the fight by badmouthing him and his brother, fellow heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko, in public.
Nikolai Valuev and Ruslan Chagaev recently had their heavyweight title fight cancelled, and so the potential for either of those men to step in to face Klitschko on June 20 th is certainly there. Both would make for interesting, and at least somewhat meaningful fights.
On less than three weeks of notice, it will be hard to get another top name challenger who had not been in training camp. Although, once the fight is made, the danger always lurks around the corner. The “TBA,” or late replacement fighter, is one of the most dangerous obstacles for major boxers to face. You can ask Llenox Lewis, who suffered a scare at the hands of one his late sub’s, big brother Vitali, in his final title defense before retiring.
More on the cancellation of the Wladimir Klitschko vs. David Haye title fight to come.
