David Haye Claims He's the World's Most Popular Heavyweight

Well, it didn't take long. David Haye, who seems likely to face Vitali Klitschko sometime in 2012, is talking big about what he'll do, and about his popularity:

"I'll knock him out, I'll smash his jaw," Haye told Die Welt. "Vitali, I'll fight you if you are man enough.

"It doesn't matter to me where I fight you, I'll fight you on the moon. He has my contact details, I'm waiting for him. No fight at heavyweight would generate more publicity than Haye against the old Klitschko.

"I am the most popular heavyweight on the planet and with me he will earn the most money."

Now, there are two sides to this. Yes, he's probably right that a fight with Haye, which still has some demand (not from The World at Large so much as from people who would like to see Haye shut up for good), will draw the most money for Vitali next. But no, he is without question absolutely not the world's most popular heavyweight. Please. If anything he lost some of his fans after his lousy performance against Wladimir Klitschko, and some of them for blaming his toe and sticking it in everyone's face after to show he had an owwie.

Klitschko, as usual, was pretty clear in his Sky Sports interview after his win over Tomasz Adamek on September 10. He said, ""David Haye, world famous not for boxing skills but for his long tongue. You know what, with his trash talking, he touched me and my brother personally. I want to knock him out. I am serious. I want to knock him out."

It's really up to David Haye how serious these talks get. Who thinks the fight will happen? Who thinks it won't?