WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO should feel ashamed for opting to fight Dereck Chisora rather than set up a unification bout with David Haye, according to the latter’s manager and trainer Adam Booth.

Haye, the WBA champion, has been engaged in protracted negotiations with the Ukrainian, who holds the IBF and WBO titles and is regarded as the world’s best heavyweight as holder of the respected “Ring” belt.

However, it was announced yesterday that Klitschko will instead honour his agreement to fight Haye’s fellow Londoner Chisora, on April 30, after a stomach injury forced the champion to pull out of their proposed clash last month.

An unimpressed Booth said: “There were lots of people that know Wladimir really didn’t want this fight yet.

“It’s a shame. It’s embarrassing for boxing that the unification fight isn’t going to happen now because David’s bent over backwards. We’ve conceded to every single ridiculous demand they made.

“From the start they said 50-50. David said fine, even though potentially we’re putting in the pot three or four times more than they’re putting into the pot because of pay-per-view Sky box office.

David still said ‘let’s get the fight done 50-50’.

“They said the fight had to be on their German broadcaster even though our German broadcaster was prepared to pay more. We said fine. They said ‘we’re not coming to England for the fight’.

David said ‘fine, I’ll go to Germany’.

They said Wladimir has to be in the red corner, Wladimir has to come in second, Wladimir’s name has to be first on the poster and all these other ridiculous, egotistical things, and David said ‘fine, have it, just get him in the ring with me’.

“The last thing was, here is the date we now have, we said yes, Sky have approved that date and they turn round and say ‘we’re now doing Chisora’.

“Wladimir should feel ashamed of himself.”

It seemed the financial arrangements for Haye versus Klitschko had been agreed but several stumbling blocks – chiefly available television dates – had yet to be sorted.

Booth cannot fathom why Klitschko would not agree to fight Haye – other than not being convinced he would triumph.

He added: “When Wladimir first spoke of fighting David, when David was still a cruiserweight, I think he was confident but now as a heavyweight I genuinely don’t think he’s as confident.

“If he was, why would he want to go out and fight Chisora? If he’s confident of beating David, and he’s got it all his own way, and we’ve agreed to all of his terms, if he’s confident of beating David, why is he fighting Dereck Chisora for a fraction of the money that he would make to fight David? It makes no sense to me.”

Haye had hoped to fight Klitschko in the spring and then his brother Vitali, the WBC champion, in late summer or early autumn before hanging up his gloves as undisputed champion.

“I’m retiring next year, so they have got to pull their socks up,” Haye said after mauling Audley Harrison in November. “They have got a deadline and a deadline is a deadline.

“I retire before I’m 31 (October 13) and no way am I going to wait around. It puts an extra bit of pressure on them.”