David Haye has been told to turn his back on London and head for Las Vegas if he really wants to cement his place as one of the greatest world heavyweight champions.

A title showdown against one of the Ukrainian Klitschko brothers has the potential to become the richest fight in boxing history but only if it takes place in the United States rather than at Wembley Stadium.

Richard Schaefer, who represents Haye's American promoters Golden Boy, today revealed his belief that a unification bout between Londoner Haye and either Vitali or Wladimir Klitschko could earn more than the record £93million generated by the super-fight staged in Las Vegas two and a half years ago between ring legends Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jnr.

But that kind of money - made up of £80m in broadcasting income and £13m in gate receipts - would only be possible by the sale of lucrative pay-per-view television subscriptions in the United States.

A record 2.4 million households, the vast majority of them in America, bought the De La Hoya-Mayweather clash for the WBC light-middleweight belt, which was won by Mayweather on a split decision.

That is far more than Sky Sports and European pay-per-view outlets could attract - it is believed that 800,000 paid to watch Haye's fight with Nikolai Valuev. And a match-up at Wembley Stadium would not hold the appeal for the vital American television audience that a heavily-hyped contest in Las Vegas would.

The next fight for 29-year-old Haye, who was a sensational winner against Russian giant Valuev in Germany on Saturday, is a mandatory defence of the WBA title against John Ruiz, set for the O2 Arena.

Assuming he comes through that test successfully, the Londoner's trainer and manager Adam Booth has targeted a follow-up bout with a Klitschko at Wembley Stadium.

But Schaefer claims the MGM Hotel and Casino, which hosted De La Hoya against Mayweather, had already contacted him about putting on Haye versus one of the Klitschkos - Vitali holds the WBC title and Wladimir is the IBF and WBO champion.

Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy, said: “Of course, a fight of that magnitude would be perfect for Wembley Stadium.

“But there are alternatives we will look at, and the US pay-per-view market is very important.
“To do that fight in the United States would be huge. To do Haye versus a Klitschko in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, would be as big a fight as it could be.

“The total global receipts would be somewhere like what De La Hoya-Mayweather did, which was a staggering number.”

Schaefer is in no doubt that Haye's combination of explosive skills in the ring and his charisma, laced with a willingness to be outspoken, will establish the Briton as a mammoth star in the United States.

He said: “After David's very impressive win over Valuev, I know the American public will embrace him. David knows how to entertain and that's something we've been looking for in the heavyweight division.”