Former undisputed world cruiserweight champion David ‘The Hayemaker’ Haye has pulled out of an announced September 12 showdown with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko and signed a contract to meet current WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev on November 7, at a location yet to be decided but expected to take place in Germany. “I am thrilled to announce that my dream of becoming world heavyweight champion will be realised on November 7, when I challenge the tallest and heaviest champion of all time, Nikolai Valuev,” said Haye. “Valuev’s known as ‘The Beast From The East’ and there’s a reason he’s got that nickname – he’s a big, ugly, sweaty and hairy man from the Eastern Bloc. Valuev is eight stone heavier than me and a foot taller than me. David only needed a slingshot and a stone to flatten Goliath, and I’m convinced my right hand generates more power than a stone.”

Having spent the best part of 2009 negotiating contracts with both Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, Haye stated “There were reports in the German press that I had signed to fight Vitali Klitschko in September, but those reports were never true,” explained Haye. “There have been long and exhausting discussions about the clash, but unfortunately I could never put my name to the fight contract the Klitschkos offered. The level of disrespect they have shown me throughout has left me feeling insulted.

“As for signing the contract, now that I realise just how much support and interest I have from the people in Germany, it would have been like selling my soul to the devil. I will not be a slave fighter.

“Once I have snatched Valuev’s title, I will be happy to battle out heavyweight supremacy with the Klitschkos, but only on equal and fair terms,” said Haye. “As the WBA heavyweight champion, I should be able to meet them without having to sign my life away. Beating Valuev and taking his WBA title is my best chance of securing unification.

“I only hope the Klitschkos still want to fight me after I have slayed ‘The Beast’.”