Klitschko vs. Haye: Biggest HW Fight in Almost a Decade Doesn't Mean Much

The biggest heavyweight fight in almost a decade is about to begin, but does anybody really care?

This Saturday, Wladamir Klitschko and David Haye will square off in the biggest heavyweight bout since Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis fought in June of 2002, but this sure doesn't have the feel of a mega-event fight. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure all of you reading this have been waiting with bated breath, as this heavyweight standoff has been three years in the making with its on-again, off-again antics. Not only has the promotion of this fight brought you this T-Shirt and a new catchphrase, but it also represents the first legitimate challenge to Wladamir Klitschko's dominance in years.

But when assessing the American public's general buzz for this fight, it falls short of mega-fight status.

For instance, when was the last time you can remember a "major" boxing event not being a pay-per-view order? With money grabbers like Bob Arum, almost any fight featuring any slightly well-known fighter has been turned into a pay-per-view event.

In the world of boxing, if a fight is not on pay-per-view, it's not considered a must-see event. 

Heck, even Oscar De La Hoya vs. Ricardo Mayorga was sold as a once-in-a-lifetime order.

Without even the mention of a lack of pay-per-view status domestically, Klitschko vs. Haye has barely even made a blip on the nightly sports-news shows, as they are all too busy dealing with sport organizations that have found it fashionable to cease being sport organizations for a while (NFL, NBA).

And even for those die-hard boxing fans, a quick check of the most read and commented stories of Bleacher Report's boxing section would show that the hearts and minds of boxing fans are still with those two welterweights who can't seem to come to an agreement to fight one another.

So, if the biggest heavyweight fight in almost a decade takes place but no one is around to see it....

Well, you know the rest.