Vitali Klitschko: 'David Haye doesn't want to fight me, he's a liar'

Vitali Klitschko has apparently heard about as much about a potential fight with David Haye as he wants to, as he slammed the British heavyweight star at the WBC convention in Mexico when asked about him again, saying that Haye doesn't really want a fight, no matter what he says:

"David Haye doesn't want to fight me. He's a liar! We sent him a contract to fight me in Moscow, but he went and fought Chisora. And after that fight, he's trying to sell himself! He says he wants to fight me and it's not true. He's had his chance to fight me many times but he didn't accept our contract. I don't want to talk about him!"

Though Klitschko certainly has the majority of boxing fans on his side in this case -- or at least that's the feeling I get -- there is the fact that it's been said many times over that Klitschko contracts are decidedly one-sided, in their favor. Haye and manager/trainer Adam Booth got a square deal to face Wladimir in 2011, and apparently they expect something like that again.

That said, while Haye is a star and a fight between he and Vitali is as big a fight as Vitali can make, the feeling is probably that Vitali doesn't need Haye in any way, so why budge? There are countless heavyweights out there who will get into the ring with the Klitschkos for a lot less than Haye will.

Take that however you want and find it unfair either way you wish, but I think that's the reality here. Haye probably would fight Vitali, but not on the terms Vitali has offered, and I doubt Vitali sees any great reason to budge. Personally, it's the fight I want to see. Otherwise, I can't think of much Vitali could do that would really interest me -- again, just because I know what happens, not because I have anything against Klitschko -- though I suppose the Tyson Fury chatter isn't a half-bad option.

As for Haye, there are a bunch of guys I'd like to see him fight. What can I say? I'm a fan of David Haye's. He amuses me. He adds spark to the game when he's around. And people dislike him for perfectly legitimate reasons, too. He's one of the great characters in boxing today, and those guys make boxing more fun for me.

Vitali confirms, also, that he's near his final days in the sport, which you might have guessed simply by looking up his birth date.