The highly anticipated unification fight between IBF, WBO, IBO and “The Ring” World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko and WBA titlist David Haye takes place at the Hamburg Imtech Arena, Germany on July 2. The stadium is the home field of the German Bundesliga soccer club Hamburger SV.
After months of negotiations and a cancellation of the bout in June 2009, finally the clash of the two knockout kings will happen.
Bernd Bönte, Managing Director of Klitschko Management Group: ” We are very glad that this mega fight will finally come true. We expect more than 150 TV stations worldwide to show the fight live or on a delay. Klitschko vs. Haye is definitely one of the top highlights in sport.”
David Haye became WBA World Heavyweight Champion in 2009 when he dethroned Russian Nikolay Valuev. Since then he successfully defended his title twice. Before that, Haye was the dominating figure in the cruiser weight division holding the WBC, WBA and WBO titles. Haye’s impressive record is 25 wins (23 by KO) and one defeat only.
David “Hayemaker“ Haye: I always said I would knock out Wladimir, get his belts and will then finish up his brother Vitali to end my career on the peak. Wladimir has only fought wimps and cowards so far. I will show him his limitations and what it is like to fight a real champion; that is a promise.”
The last unification match took place at Madison Square Garden New York in 2008, when IBF and IBO World Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko scored a unanimous decision against WBO Champion Sultan Ibragimov. Against Haye, it will be Wladimir Klitschko’s 19th world championship title fight. The professional record of the 1996 Olympic Gold medalist is 55 wins (49 KOs) with only 3 losses.
Wladimir Klitschko: „I am very happy that Haye finally dares to step into the ring with me. He already ducked out of two fights with me and Vitali and is only trash talking and producing stupid shirts. Now he has to prove in the ring what he has got. I have been waiting for this fight for over two years.”
Tom Loeffler, Managing Director of K2 Promotions: “This will be the second heavyweight unification fight that we have promoted. The first was between Wladimir and Ibragimov at a sold out Madison Square Garden, but this fight between Wladimir and Haye is on a totally different level. It has been talked about for the last two years and now is the premiere event in boxing. The Klitschkos are the only boxers that can regularly fill the large soccer stadiums in Europe and the Imtech Arena in Hamburg is a great venue.”
BSkyB will show the bout live on Pay-Per-View in the UK. HBO will televise the fight in the US and RTL will broadcast the event live and exclusively in Germany.
