David Haye is desperate to make a name for himself as a heavyweight boxer. Therefore he is bound to be frustrated that his hopes of securing a top-10 ranked opponent were thwarted when JD Chapman – who is ranked ninth by the WBA – failed to show for a media launch that was scheduled to preview their fight.

Haye revealed that Chapman and his team had all the money the wanted for the fight and all their flights paid for before deciding not to turn up in England. You can see why the American boxer and his team have been deemed ‘unprofessional’ can’t you?

Despite the no-show, Haye is confident that Chapman will be in the ring with him in November and that he will take his current frustrations ‘out on him then’. Should the fight eventually go ahead, Haye will be facing a man who has won all of his 29 fights with only three going the full distance. It should be an interesting and exciting fight, should it ever go ahead.

Haye’s manager Adam Booth decided not to mince his words quite as much as the fighter himself. He said that Chapman had been the third top-10 fighter to agree terms before pulling out at the last minute. Booth has accused the fighters of ‘running away’ from Haye after Chapman allegedly said he didn’t want to come to England ‘to get knocked out’.

So what does the future hold for David Haye and who will he be fighting on 15th November? Well, they are still holding out for JD Chapman who remains there preferred opponent. After all, it does seem strange that someone with such a good record is simply running scared of someone who has competed in just one heavyweight fight. I would be happy placing a boxing bet on Chapman stepping into the ring with Haye in November. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is just holding out for a bit more money – that is boxing’s nature after all.

Whatever happens, Haye says there is no doubt that he will be fighting a top-10 fighter on November 15th. Whether that is Chapman or not, he will be hoping that it is simply a stepping stone in his quest to fight Wladimir Klitschko to become the best heavyweight boxer in the world.

Written by Thomas Rooney - A Freelance Sports Journalist