Haye says, however, that he doesn’t have an obsession with Joshua, just with being recognized as the best the heavyweight in boxing.“It’s not a burning thing,” Haye told Sky Sports for a story posted Tuesday on its website. “It’s just a goal that I’ve set [for] myself to prove that I’m No. 1. It was always my goal to be ranked No. 1 in the heavyweight division. And I had my chance to do that against Wladimir, but I failed and lost the fight on points.”
Klitschko defeated Haye in an infamously boring bout in July 2011, a heavily hyped unification fight that didn’t come close to meeting expectations in the ring in Hamburg, Germany. If Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) can defeat Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) in their April 29 fight at Wembley Stadium in London, a
Klitschko-Haye rematch would be a very difficult sell due to the dull nature of their first fight.
Regardless, Haye (28-2, 26 KOs) must beat Tony Bellew (28-2-1, 18 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round fight March 4 at O2 Arena in London to have any shot at facing the Joshua-Klitschko winner.
The 36-year-old Haye has knocked out both opponents in two fights since ending a three-year retirement last January.“I’d like the opportunity to get into another big fight against a world champion who many people consider to be No. 1 and beat him,” Haye said. “The winner of Joshua and Klitschko, many people will consider that person to be the No. 1 in the division. If they were No. 1, I’d love the opportunity to test my skills against them. Big heavyweight fights. Big title showdowns. That’s always been the plan.”
