Klitschko ready to go '50-50' with Haye

LONDON (AFP) Vitali Klitschko has offered to split the purse with David Haye in a bid to make their long-awaited world heavyweight unification tile fight a reality. Previous attempts to set-up a fight between Haye and Klitschko, or his younger brother Wladimir, that many boxing pundits believe is necessary for the credibility of a tainted heavyweight division have foundered on arguments over both payments and venues. But Klitschko, a Ukrainian who is the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion said Monday he was ready to come to England to face Haye for a fifty-fifty purse split. Haye, the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion saw off fellow Englishman Audley Harrison inside three rounds in Manchester on Saturday in a title defence that saw both boxers warned at one stage for a lack of action. Im ready any minute to sign a 50-50 contract, Klitschko told BBC Radio Five on Monday. We are both world champions so lets fight. Lets make the fight in the spring time - Im ready, the question is for David Haye. David Haye is a great talker but the question is, is he a good fighter? If he is a good fighter he should sign the contract. I want to fight David Haye because my brother already has two world titles and I have just the one. Wladimir Klitschko, holds the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organisation (WBO) heavyweight championship belts. The Klitschko brothers have a longstanding agreement never to fight one another, leaving a fight between one of them and Haye as the most plausible heavyweight championship bout on offer. But the failure to come to an agreement with Haye has led to a series of lacklustre title fights, of which Hayes lopsided encounter with Harrison was only the most recent. Now the Klitschkos are both set to meet Britains Dereck Chisora, with Wladimir to face the previously little thought of Londonder in December. Vitali, yet to confirm his next opponent after overwhelming Shannon Briggs of the United States in October, wants to make sure he fights Haye before his brother because otherwise he wont have a credible challenger for his title. I want to fight David Haye because after he has fought Wladimir I will not have an opponent any more. Wladimir will kill him. He knocks everyone out badly. That is why I want to fight David Haye.

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