Boxing: High-profile fights court interest for all the wrong reasons

by Kevin Hayde, South Wales Echo

WELSH boxing fans will be keeping a close eye on two high-profile shows tonight – but they have attracted public interest for all the wrong reasons.

‘The Sham in West Ham’ sees Dereck Chisora take on David Haye at Upton Park in a grudge match set up following their infamous brawl in Munich in February.

The controversial Chisora – who had lost to Vitali Klitschko earlier that night before grappling with Haye at his post-fight press conference – had promised to be on his best behaviour outside the ring.

But then he threatened to cut off the Hayemaker’s dreadlocks at the weigh-in and said: “What happened in Munich is like a batch of eggs which have gone rotten – and now we’ve bought fresh eggs.

“I’m going to make an omelette out of David Haye.” What? Most people thought it was a nonsense fight from the start but this surely takes the biscuit.
Haye is mainly remembered for being the man who didn’t fight when he took on Wladimir Klitschko and then moaned about a sore little toe after being beaten.
Chisora is known as the clown who smacked his brother Vitali at their pre-fight weigh-in and then spat water at Wladimir.
I see this event as bad for boxing with the possibility of even greater childish behaviour tonight.
Frank Warren has revealed 29,000 tickets have been sold for the show as well as there being a good take-up on the BoxNation subscription channel.
I must admit I am interested in seeing the outcome and I go for Haye inside the distance, although I don’t really care as long as it doesn’t kick off before or after they get in the ring.
The other big show is in Las Vegas and the unification showdown between light-welterweight champions Amir Khan (WBA) and Danny Garcia (WBC).
Khan – who was re-instated this week as WBA champion following Lamont Peterson’s failed drug test – has been vocal about which fight is the bigger.
In truth, there’s no contest with the Khan-Garcia fight promising to be of a much superior quality.
Garcia’s father and trainer Angel has caused plenty of ill feeling in the build-up and has been accused of racially abusing Khan.
He has also called Khan “chinny” when referring to his first-round loss to the Breidis Prescott in 2008.
But I believe Khan has become much stronger since and I see him stopping Garcia inside five rounds.