WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has told David Haye to forget about fighting him or his brother Wladimir in the near future.
Klitschko accuses Briton of running scared
WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has told David Haye to forget about fighting him or his brother Wladimir in the near future.
Vitali has been left fuming by the actions of Haye, claiming the former cruiserweight champion backed out of deals to fight against both brothers.
Haye had been due to fight Wladimir, who holders the WBO and IBF belts, in June only for a back injury to rule him out, while extensive talks to face Vitali in September broke down.
Haye, who also upset the Klitschkos after wearing an offensive T-shirt when promoting the fight with Wladimir, has now opted to challenge for the WBA title instead when he takes on Nikolai Valuev on November 7 in Germany.
And Vitali has accused the British fighter of running scared.
Vitali, who fight unbeaten Chris Arreola in Los Angeles on September 26, said: "I don't believe he had an injury.
"It was excuses. He didn't understand the contract we signed with him.
Afraid
"My personal opinion, his manager talked to Valuev, and he sees his chance to be world champion much more against Valuev.
"He is afraid. My personal opinion, he is not serious. It's not good for boxing."
Bernd Boente, who manages the Klitschkos, continued the verbal assault on Haye by calling him a 'braggart'.
"You could do a James Bond and 'never say never'," Boente said. "But I don't think it's ever going to happen.
"He's a cruiserweight and his biggest win is against an old Monte Barrett.
"He has trouble selling tickets in his own country. I know, I've been to his fights. He's a braggart, and that's it."
However despite all their claims, the Klitschkos could still be forced into a fight with Haye if he succeeds in ripping the WBA title away from Russian behemoth Valuev.
"It's our dream to take that last belt for the Klitschko family," Vitali said. "I don't know if it will happen."
