Larry Brown Sports

Wladimir Klitschko and Hayden Panettiere have finally gotten back together, and now a report says the two are secretly engaged.

Klitschko and Panettiere began dating in 2009 and split up in 2011. Though they have not confirmed that they are back together, gossip outlets have said that they reconciled in January. The two have been photographed together multiple times in recent months, which seems to confirm their relationship.

Now US Weekly says they are secretly engaged.

“Very few people know, and she isn’t wearing her ring publicly yet,” a source told US Weekly.

The source also told US Weekly that the “Heroes” and “Nashville” star is planning her wedding, which they say should be happening during the summer.

Despite their differences on the surface — Panettiere is 23 years old and 5-foot-2, while Wladimir, a world champion heavyweight boxer, is 6-foot-6 and 37 — the two seem to have strong feelings for each other.

A day after slapping Vitali Klitschko during their pre-fight weigh-in, Dereck Chisora outdid himself when he spit water in the face of Klitschko’s brother Wladimir. This guy is just asking to die.

It happened in the ring before Chisora and Vitali squared off for the WBC Heavyweight belt in Munich on Saturday. Wladimir remained restrained, only revealing a slight grin.

Somehow Chisora survived the fight — albeit with a loss. Klitschko won by unanimous decision, taking almost every round on all three judges’ cards. Vitali is now 44-2 while Chisora falls to 15-3.

David Haye says he would like a rematch against Wladimir Klitschko despite losing his WBA title to him Saturday. Haye was wiped out on the scorecards losing a unanimous decision, and he was criticized for hardly throwing punches. The British fighter further inflamed his critics when he used his broken toe as an excuse for the poor showing.

Now Haye says he would like to fight again.

Before you start ripping Haye, let’s look at the way he made his comments. It’s not like he called Wladimir out and said he was robbed and that he wants another shot. He said he’d like a rematch in the sense that anyone wants to fight for a title. He added that Klitschko might want to make good on his promise to knock Haye out.

I know people are going to call me crazy for saying what I think, but I actually would like to see a rematch. There are several reasons why.

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It was raining in Hamburg, Germany where the David Haye-Wladimir Klitschko fight took place so Haye’s corner took some precautions to help keep him dry. Not only did they fit his shoes with booties for his walk into the ring, they also gave him a corny looking poncho to put on while in the ring. Check out the pictures:

Wrapped in tin foil was a good look for Haye. It’s about the only thing that could help his weak chin.

After years of negotiations, plans, and fighters backing out, David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko finally agreed to meet and they’ll square off on Saturday in Hamburg, Germany. Haye really caught Wladimir’s attention in 2009 when he wore the shirt pictured above to a press conference for their potential fight, one that shows him decapitating both Klitschkos in the ring (never underestimate the power of trash talk). Whether or not Wlad is playing along in the promotional game to hype up the fight I don’t know, but he says he’s offended by Haye’s pre-fight behavior and it seems to be legitimate.

During a press conference to promote their fight Monday, David Haye said “This is going to be the most brutal execution of a boxer that you’ve seen for many, many years. I’m going to go out there and absolutely destroy him, really quickly.”

The “brutal execution” comment apparently didn’t sit well with Wladimir who said it crossed the line.

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James Toney is a likely Hall of Fame boxer who is one of the best trash talkers around. He recently signed on to fight Ken Shamrock in an MMA bout on October 1st. In an interview with East Side Boxing, Toney admitted that he’s turned to MMA because no good boxers will face him. Naturally, Toney made his admission while getting in a jab at David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko who are fighting on July 2nd.

“These guys are clowns!” Toney told East Side Boxing. “You’ve got David “Gaye” and Wladimir “Bitschko,” who are gonna earn millions all because Gaye can talk trash. They call him a great trash-talker, but I’m THE BEST trash-talker on the planet! He [Haye] did some shit with a T-shirt and he talked his way into a million dollar fight! That’s nothing- I called Klitschko’s mom a b**ch and his sister too, and they don’t wanna fight me. How come? I did everything I could to get those two sisters into the ring.”

While trash talking is always an effective way of generating buzz and getting an opponent’s attention, there is one key component to getting big fights: you have to be a competitive fighter. Toney is 42 and no longer good enough to compete with the elite heavyweights in the world. On top of that, it’s difficult to trust a fighter who got busted for using steroids in the past.

Toney may not be good enough to compete with the best fighters anymore, but he can still bring top level trash talk. Because of his entertainment value, we’ll be watching his fight with Shamrock.

Wladimir Klitschko is 55-3 and the IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion of the world. He’s preparing to fight David Haye in July for Haye’s WBA heavyweight champion belt. If Wladimir wins, he will have earned his fourth title belt and he’ll combine with brother Vitali to hold all the major heavyweight titles. But if you hear the way Wlad tells it, their combined success is extremely surprising.

Wladimir lost two of four fights in 2003 and 2004 getting beat pretty badly. He was defeated in the second round by Corrie Sanders in March of ’03, getting knocked down twice in the first and two more times in the second. Though Wlad struggled immensely with Sanders’ powerful left hand, he rebounded to win his next two fights. Then in April of ’04, Wladimir lost to Lamon Brewster by TKO in the fifth. Wladimir says his brother advised him to quit boxing after seeing him lose by TKO twice in 13 months.

“I was destroyed and at the bottom of the sport – destroyed by fans, media, everyone and I ended up on the floor,” Wladimir told the News of the World.

“Even my brother Vitali said, ‘Look at your face, where you are right now, I think it’s time to say goodbye to the sport’.

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