After what seems like years of build-up - actually this is literally true, the fight was first mooted in 2009 - boxing fans will finally get the opportunity on Saturday night to see whether David Haye has what it takes to, in his own words, 'clean up the heavyweight division'.
Some of the pre-fight build up has been pretty tedious and some of it has bordered on the bizarre. But all is fair when there's box office tickets to sell and this one could break all the records. Certainly the appetite is there in Germany where TV audiences for boxing have been huge in the past. Saturday's fight in Hamburg is expected to attract a 60 per cent share of the TV audience in addition to the 50,000 fans crammed into the Imtech Arena. It's a welcome reminder of the days when the heavyweight championship really was the biggest prize in sport.
As for the fight itself, it could be a classic. If Haye keeps to his word and retires before his 31st birthday in October, this could very possibly be his last fight. He has to leave everything in the ring or he will regret it for the rest of his life. But it won't be easy to wrestle the belts from Klitschko that he's held since 2006. The Ukrainian has a strong jab, a longer reach and the ring nous to do just what it takes in front of sympathetic judges on home turf. If Haye let's it go to the cards, he'll be in big trouble, but then very few Haye fights go the distance. The major exception was his fight against Valuev in which he boxed sensibly, moved in and out of range and only took risks when it was clear the big man was dead on his feet. Klitschko is a completely different prospect. To win, Haye will have to knock him out, but that is by no means beyond him. The omens are good. Klitschko's two previous conquerers - Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster - were heavy-handed shorter men in the Haye mould. Sanders is 6 ft 4in and Brewster 6ft 2in, while Haye is right in the middle at 6ft 3in. Throughout his career, the one thing that has never been in doubt about David Haye is his power. When he connects, it's goodnight Vienna.
Like Lennox Lewis, I'm torn. My heart says Haye, my head says Klitschko. So I'm going to split myself in two with a bet on Haye to win by KO or TKO in rounds 4 to 6 at 8/1 with Betfred and a saver on Klitschko on points at 15/4 with Bet365.
