David Haye vs. Wladimir Klistchko: Does Haye Fit the Bill or Just Media Creation

The Heavyweight division has been a bore for the past decade, with the last anticipated fight coming from the 2002 fiasco that was Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis.

Since then, we've seen a long and dominating stretch from Ukrainian brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, which has resulted in "challenges" from the likes of Ray Austin and Danny Williams. It's no wonder the Heavyweight division has become "Must Not See T.V."

In steps David Haye.

He who is never lost for words, Haye has managed to capture the attention of the world for a Heavyweight fight (no small task) with his mouth and t-shirts. Unlike many of Wladimir Klitschko's opponents, Haye is seen as an in-his-prime fighter with power and a perceived speed advantage.

With the all-important Las Vegas odds recently only having this as a 2-1 Klitschko advantage, it's clear many see this as the ultimate toss-up fight.

But outside of a personal feud, which Haye and Klitschko have done a tremendous job of building up and marketing, what has David Haye done to justify the public demand that this fight has garnered?

Since moving up from the Cruiserweight division, where he captured the WBC, WBO and WBA titles, Haye has won four fights and captured the WBA championship. But as Floyd Mayweather likes to say, "Belts don't do nothing, but collect dust."

In his four Heavyweight bouts, Haye has faced very little opposition in TKO's of journeymen Monte Barrett, John Ruiz and Audley Harrison. His toughest fight came in the form of 7' 2" circus show Nikolai Valuev, a fight where Haye used his superior speed and boxing ability to outpoint the light hitting "Goliath" in a 12 round, unanimous decision victory.

Not exactly Ali, Frazier, Foreman and Joe Louis.

And that's where the problem lies. While Haye has the perceived looks (and mouth) to challenge Klitschko, the weak stable the Heavyweight division offers doesn't give us the opportunity to evaluate Haye against a fighter anywhere near the skill level and ability of Wladimir Klitschko.

In all other divisions of boxing, there is a clear hierarchy and food chain one must climb in order to be considered elite.

Take the Welterweight division, for instance,  where Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquaio currently sit atop the hierarchy. While indisputably the two best in the division, there are lower levels in this food-chain, which feature a stable of excellent fighters including: Victor Ortiz, Andre Berto, Kell Brook, Mike Jones, and the recently moved up Timothy Bradley and Devon Alexander.

The Heavyweight division provides no such proven ground food-chain or hierarchy. 

What we know about David Haye is that he is a great Cruiserweight turned very good Heavyweight, who just might be the best challenge to Wladimir Klitschko. We don't know how good he is, let alone if he is up to the task of providing an entertaining fight against Klitschko. 

So, while Haye vs. Klitschko is the most anticipated fight in the Heavyweight division in a decade, is that due to the abilities of Haye, or rather the public's and media's desire for a major Heavyweight division event? 

On June 2nd, David Haye can answer that question.