LONDON: David Haye declared he wants to face Vitali Klitschko next after his fifth round demolition of British heavyweight rival Dereck Chisora on Saturday.
The former world heavyweight and cruiserweight world champion managed to do what Vitali failed to do in the last defense of his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title in February: stop Chisora.
Haye, 31, lost a version of the world title to Vitali’s younger brother Wladimir a year ago and was criticized for his passive performance and post-fight excuse of a broken toe.
But Haye felt an amount of redemption after twice leaving Chisora slumped on the canvas at Upton Park, the home of West Ham football club, from left hooks and hopes it will earn him another crack at a Klitschko.
Wladimir, who holds three of the world title belts, insists he is not interested in a rematch with Haye for the moment.
Vitali, who holds the other world title belt, was linked with a defense against Haye earlier this year.
But WBC champion Vitali’s next challenger on September 10 is Germany-based Syrian Manuel Charr, who gate-crashed the Haye-Chisora post-fight press conference to announce he would be prepared to fight Haye once he beats the WBC champion.
Haye, however, expects Vitali to prevail and hopes to face the Ukrainian later this year or in 2013.
“I held a version of the world heavyweight championship and I would like to regain a version of the world heavyweight championship,” Haye told a news conference.
“If Vitali beats this gentleman (Manuel Charr) I would love to challenge him for his title. If it’s not meant to be, so be it.
“If this was my last performance, I have gone out with a bang and everyone is happy. After a performance like that and him getting on, if you were one of his advisers you wouldn’t tell Vitali to fight me.
“I’ve proved my punching power against someone who pushed Vitali to the wire. It was a measuring stick to show how I performed against his last opponent.
“I would be very confident of beating Vitali.”
Vitali, 40, may well retire after facing Charr to pursue a full-time political career, which would leave Haye trying to convince Wladimir, 36, to give him a rematch.
Haye’s rediscovered his knockout power - he has stopped 24 of 25 opponents - against Chisora and was well ahead on all three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, with one judge scoring it 40-36 and the other two seeing it 39-37.
But Haye had to take some shots from Chisora, who kept marching forward until he was caught by a brilliant left hook in the fifth round. Another quick right sent Chisora stumbling backwards onto the canvas.
He got to his feet at the count of seven but after a ferocious onslaught, he was left open and Haye seized his chance with a swinging left hook to the jaw.
This time, referee Luis Pabon waved the contest over as Chisora sluggishly got to his feet.
But after the distasteful pre-fight trash-talk, which followed the pair’s punch-up at a press conference following Chisora’s points loss to Vitali in February, the two Londoners embraced in the ring.
Haye then paid tribute to Zimbabwe-born Chisora, who has lived in London since the age of 16.
“It was tough,” he said. “I thought it would be easier than it was but I trained for it to be tough. I trained for the best Dereck Chisora and that guy turned up.
“He stepped up a level here and took some amazing shots and landed some amazing shots. It felt like a great fight. After sharing the ring with Dereck I have a new-found respect for him.”
Chisora, 28, will pay Haye £20,000 for him to donate to a charity after the pair had a bet on their fight for the minor World Boxing Association (WBA) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) International heavyweight titles.
“For a split second I didn’t concentrate and it was the sort of shot that puts you down,” said Chisora.
“Vitali has not got power and isn’t interested in fighting any more, so David probably wins.”
Haye targets Klitschko after Chisora victory
Haye targets Klitschko after Chisora victory
Italian gymnastics ex-coach stands trial for bullying
ROME: The former coach of Italy’s rhythmic gymnastics team goes on trial Tuesday accused of bullying athletes, fueling questions over the treatment of young athletes as the country hosts the Winter Olympics.
Emanuela Maccarani, a former national team gymnast herself, faces charges of abuse of minors at a court in Monza near Milan, which is hosting part of the Games.
The trial was sparked by explosive claims three years ago by two promising Italian gymnasts, Nina Corradini and double world champion Anna Basta, who claimed they quit the sport while still teenagers as a result of psychological abuse by Maccarani.
Corradini and Basta are civil parties along with two other gymnasts, Beatrice Tornatore and Francesca Mayer, and Change The Game, an Italian association campaigning against emotional, physical and sexual abuse and violence in sports.
Maccarani has denied the charges. Five gymnasts who trained with her submitted statements in her defense at a preliminary hearing in September.
Change The Game founder Daniela Simonetti told AFP the trial throws into “question methods that often cause pain, devastation, and significant consequences for boys and girls in general.”
“This trial is linked to a way of thinking, a way of understanding sport, a way of managing young athletes.
“The expectation is that there will be a real debate around this, whether these methods are right or wrong,” she said.
Episodes of alleged abuse in the discipline have come under growing scrutiny, particularly following a sexual abuse scandal in the late 2010s, which saw former Team USA doctor Larry Nassar convicted of molesting girls.
Vulnerable
The Olympics Committee has given more attention to mental health in recent years in a bid to protect athlete wellbeing.
While the discipline is not featured at the Winter Games, the world’s top gymnasts are preparing for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Coach Maccarani, 59, led Italy to the top of a sport traditionally dominated by countries from the former Soviet bloc.
But during her near three-decade reign at the Italian team’s National Training Center in Desio, not far from Monza, days began with gymnasts being weighed in front of one another.
Often a long way from their families and barely out of childhood, they were vulnerable.
Some took laxatives and weighed themselves obsessively. One world champion reported being berated for eating a pear.
The affair appeared to be over in September 2023 when Maccarani was given a simple warning by the disciplinary tribunal of the country’s gymnastics federation (FGI) and handed back the reins of the national team, nicknamed the “Butterflies.”
But in March last year the FGI, under new president Andrea Facci, sacked Maccarani.
The FGI’s official explanation to AFP at the time of her dismissal was that the organization wanted to “open a new cycle in preparation for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.”
Corradini, whose testimony led the Monza prosecutor’s office to open an investigation, told AFP last year she was happy for “the young athletes who will now join the national team and who will surely have a different experience.”
