Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko had a wish to hold a world title simultaneously with his older brother, Vitali Klitschko. It happened in late 2008, when Vitali came out of retirement and routed Samuel Peter to win one of the belts.
Now, Wladimir, who holds two sanctioning-organization belts along with the Ring magazine title, has another wish -- to destroy titleholder David Haye in a unification fight.
"I will break him apart," Klitschko said from Los Angeles in an interview with ESPN.com. "But I wish that David Haye will last for 12 rounds. I want to enjoy punishing him for 12 rounds and then knock him out at the last moment. I promise you, I will knock him out if he has the courage to fight me."
A little harsh, don't you think, especially coming from the usually very respectful Klitschko, who rarely has a bad word to say about anyone?
"I'm sorry. It's not sadistic; it's just a wish," Klitschko said. "That's the perfect fight, though. I'm serious about it."
[h4]Tweet, tweet[/h4] [color=#ffffff]Don't miss a moment...[b] [url=http://twitter.com/ESPNboxing]Join »[/b][/color]
[/url]
In March in Germany, Klitschko retained his collection of belts by thoroughly dominating and punishing American Eddie Chambers before knocking him cold with five seconds left in the fight. It wasn't by design, but it was the precise scenario he envisions for a fight with Haye.
Klitschko does not have a deal to face the Brit. But he wants one, and he wants one badly. And he's on the offensive trying to get one, even producing a video calling out Haye on his YouTube channel.
The match would be the biggest heavyweight fight that could be made in boxing -- and one that perhaps could excite American fans, who have become increasingly apathetic to a heavyweight division dominated by Europeans.
"In Europe, they don't say the heavyweight division is desperate or it's down," Klitschko said. "Fourteen million watched my fight in Germany [against Chambers] and 51,000 were at the stadium, and 61,000 [for the fight] before that. It's packed. We are selling out stadiums in a few days. But a David Haye fight is a great fight for the American boxing fans, too. I think a fight with David Haye, even if he is not American, is going to give positive vibes about the heavyweight division for the American fans and fans worldwide."
But the Ukraine's Klitschko, 34, doesn't want to face Haye just for lucrative business purposes. He wants the fight because he's sick of the mouthy Haye, 29, who has continually bashed the Klitschko brothers but refused to fight either of them.
Last summer, Haye (24-1, 22 KOs) had a deal to face Wladimir but pulled out less than three weeks before the bout, citing an injury few believed was legitimate. Klitschko flat-out said Haye was "a liar" when it came to the injury.
Klitschko (54-3, 48 KOs) instead went on to knock out substitute Ruslan Chagaev, one of the eight defenses (seven by knockout) he has racked up since he began his second title reign with a seventh-round destruction of Chris Byrd in 2006.
Later in the summer, Vitali thought he had a deal to defend his piece of the title against Haye, but Haye again backed out. Instead, Haye signed to fight Nikolai Valuev and went on to win a majority decision in November to claim a portion of the title.
"He !#$$#!% out on me and then he !#$$#!% out on my brother," Wladimir Klitschko said. "He lied about his injury, and then he lied to the last moment and pulled out of the fight with my brother to take the Valuev fight. That pissed me off. So I have decided to make a personal message to David Haye. I want him to fight me, to be a man. I wish there will be enough excitement, pressure and courage for David Haye to fight me.
"All the nonsense and then the lying about fighting us, I don't like how he handles his business. I really don't like anything about him. He lies. He's sneaky. But this is a personal issue to me. I don't like him."
Haye made his first title defense April 3, knocking out former titlist John Ruiz in the ninth round of a dominant performance. Klitschko said he saw some of it on the Internet and was glad Haye won, so he can get his mitts on him.
http:///sports.espn.go.com/espn/gallery/enlargePhoto?id=5087747&story=5087201">http://sports.espn.go.com...087747&...idth=640,height=550,scrollbars=no,noresize'); return false;" href="http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=5087201#">[+] Enlarge
AP Photo/Simon DawsonA win over John Ruiz was another step in the right direction for David Haye, and Wladimir Klitschko only hopes it gives Haye the confidence to face him.
"I was disappointed watching Haye fight Valuev. That was boring," Klitschko said. "Valuev [who is 7-foot, 320 pounds] is a freak show, let's face it. But John Ruiz was an impressive win. But John Ruiz is 38 years old and not really a hot shot. I respect John Ruiz for what he has done, but he was a little over the hill. David Haye won the fight, dominated. He finished the guy. I give him credit. He did what he was supposed to do. Good for him. Now let him face me. Now I hope he is confident and will fight me."
Although Klitschko owes a mandatory shot to Alexander Povetkin, he believes the IBF will grant him an exception to unify titles with Haye if they can make a deal, especially because he thinks Povetkin's camp is in no rush to face him.
"I don't know if he will step into the ring with me," Klitschko said of Povetkin, a mandatory challenger for about two years, although the fight has not come off because of injuries on both sides. "Right now, his new coach [Teddy Atlas] is not really confident he is ready. How much time does he need to get ready? Two years ago he said he was ready."
Klitschko would rather face Haye anyway -- to punish him and to get his hands on the one notable heavyweight belt not already in the family.
"I respect the IBF obligation to fight Povetkin," Klitschko said. "But I would like the exception to fight David Haye. That is the only title the Klitschkos don't have. We have them all except the WBA, which is why Haye is such an interesting cookie for me to eat.
"I want to get this fight. He did terrible things the way he presented himself and how he displayed the cut heads of the brothers and then never delivered anything. Now I am going after him and his title."
Klitschko was referring to when Haye showed up at his news conference before his defense against Hasim Rahman in late 2008 wearing a T-shirt displaying art of him holding the severed, bloody heads of the Klitschko brothers.
"I didn't like that and neither did my brother," Wladimir Klitschko said. "Vitali got upset with the shirt and almost fought him in the hallway. Vitali said, 'I am going to fight this guy.' I said, 'No, no, no.' So we flipped a coin to see who gets him."
Wladimir was supposed to, but Haye backed out. Then Vitali thought he'd get him, and Haye backed out again. Now, it's back to Wladimir.
"I say to my brother, 'I will take Haye now. It's my turn after he pulled out on you,'" Wladimir said. "Vitali says, 'You have the titles, but I only have one, so I want Haye.' But I told him I want to fight David Haye because it's personal to me. I told him I want to fight him, I want to punish him and then I will carry the belt over and give it to you.'
"I told my brother, 'David Haye is mine. He is my opponent and not yours.' I respect my brother. He is giving me my way even if it's very difficult for him. He loves his younger brother and he understands."
While Vitali is scheduled to defend his belt against D-level contender Albert Sosnowski on May 29, Wladimir holds out hope of a deal with Haye for a fight in the early fall (the earliest it could happen because of the World Cup, which will dominate the European sports scene this summer). Wladimir Klitschko said he would be happy to fight Haye in Germany, England or even in the United States -- wherever they can make the best deal.
"I want the public to know that I am ready and waiting," Klitschko said of a potential bout with Haye. "What are you waiting for? I don't know what he is waiting for. I think he is waiting for an excuse. Come on. Let's make it happen."
Dan Rafael is the boxing writer for ESPN.com.