Haye to fight Klitschko at German soccer stadium

FRANKFURT (AP)—Wladimir Klitschko’s defense of his heavyweight title against David Haye on June 20 will be staged at Schalke’s soccer stadium, which has a capacity of more than 60,000.
The arena in Gelsenkirchen, where Schalke plays its Bundesliga matches, seats 61,673 for soccer matches and has a retractable roof that can be closed in 20 minutes. It will be the first fight to be staged there.
“I’ve always wanted to fight in a football stadium before such a large audience,” said Klitschko, who holds both the IBF and WBO titles.
Bernd Boente, managing director of Klitschko’s management group, called it one of the “most attractive and modern” stadiums in Europe, a “gigantic arena.”
Haye is a British former cruiserweight world champion who could win the heavyweight title in only his second fight at that class.
Klitschko stopped Hasim Rahman in seven rounds in his last defense in December and hasn’t lost in more than four years to build a 52-3 record to Haye’s 22-1.
Haye moved up a division more than a year ago after unifying the cruiserweight titles by knocking out Enzo Maccarinelli in two rounds. He has had only one fight as a heavyweight, knocking out Monte Barrett in five rounds in November.
Confident that he will beat Klitschko, Haye has vowed to then go after his older brother Vitali, the WBC champion, in an attempt to unify the heavyweight titles.