Boxing Betting 
/ Ralph Ellis / 10 May 2011 / Leave a Comment 
The two big men
"As we learned when Haye won his title by out manoeuvring the lumbering figure of Nikolai Valuev, behind all the lurid bragging there is a genuine fighter."
They've had a press conference and gone eyeball-to-eyeball but doubt remains as to whether they'll really get down to business, say Ralph Ellis
The contracts are signed, the two fighters have just done their first eyeball to eyeball press conference to promote the contest. The arena is booked for July 2, less than eight weeks away.
And yet still there are more people prepared to bet on David Haye not fighting Wladimir Klitschko than there are on Manchester United not getting the single point they need to be Premier League champions. If anything it underlines the suspicion people have about boxing politics it is that you can still back Wladimir Klitschko to be David Haye's next opponent at anywhere between [1.04] and [1.2].
You can't blame them. Haye has spent nearly three years trying to goad the Ukrainian brothers into the ring, and I for one won't be certain he's got Wladimir to turn up until the first bell goes. There have been so many twists and turns to the saga, so many training injuries that put off other fights or hastened them, so many insults and lurid stunts. It seems every time it's been on, it's immediately been off.
But at last it seems our brash British hero has got his way. He will put his own WBA version of the title at stake in Hamburg on July 2 in search of Wladimir's three belts - the IBF, IBO and WBO versions. It's a reward for all those insults. And guess what? They aren't stopping now.
Haye tried to come up with a line that would make him more appealing to a British public who instinctively don't like his brash boasting. He talked about honouring the memory of the great Sir Henry Cooper, the man who did most to make heavyweight boxing in Britain a mainstream sport.
But it couldn't last. There was a six-minute stare down, ended only when Haye's trainer Adam Booth put a sheaf of paper between them. Then came the accusation that the younger of the Klitschko brothers is no more than a fraud. The 13 fighters put away by Wladimir since his last defeat - to Lamon Brewster in April 2004 - have been, according to Haye, "fat little American puddings who come over here to get a cheque and get beat." For somebody whose last "fight" was the ridiculous strictly come dancing match with Audley Harrison it leaves him open to three words: pot, kettle, black.
But don't be confused. As we learned when Haye won his title by out manoeuvring the lumbering figure of Nikolai Valuev, behind all the lurid bragging there is a genuine fighter. And when the talking stops he has proper talent, meaning Betfair's early markets making him the outsider for the Klitschko contest at [2.6] presents a great opportunity. And Wladimir won't go down easily, so the [12.5] for Haye to win by a decision is even more tempting.
Whichever way you side, there's no doubt the fight will be one of the great betting events - and come to that great sporting events - of the year. Providing, of course, it actually happens!
Five things you might not know about Lamon Brewster
1. Born in an Indianapolis ghetto in June 1973, he was the oldest of four boys. His dad was a boxing fan who owned a pair of gloves he once fought with - but forbade the young Lamon ever to touch them
2. Aged seven he started going to the local gym with an 86-year-old white trainer called Bill Brown who had once sparred with Jack Dempsey
3. His trainer Bill Slayton died through cancer three months before his win over Klitschko. He said he won the fight because he ignored the advice the new guy was giving him
4. He retired in January after an eye injury caused him to lose to Robert Helenius. He claimed the Finnish fighter tampered with his gloves
5. He's now supporting a campaign to prevent cruelty to animals
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