Advertisement

David Haye insists he must beat Tony Bellew if he is to continue boxing

David Haye
David Haye insists he is going to defeat his opponent Tony Bellew on Saturday at the O2 Arena. Photograph: Matthew Childs/Reuters

Five years after David Haye said he would quit the fight game at 31, the Londoner is still making noise in the heavyweight division but he has said that this time, if he loses to Tony Bellew on Saturday night, half a mile from where he grew up, he really will walk away.

There is no title at stake, but several million pounds through pay-per-view on Sky and the sold-out seats at the O2 Arena, and that – along with a large dose of mutual animus – is enough to drive the juices of two of the most charismatic fighters in their division.

However, there will be a price to pay for the loser, as Haye acknowledged. “For me, there’s definitely nowhere to go, for sure,” he said. “He definitely has somewhere to go – other than the hospital – because, if he’s allowed to have a licence after this fight, he can go back down to defend his cruiserweight title. But, if I was to somehow miraculously lose this fight, then my ambitions for becoming a world champion will be 100% gone. It’s literally a no-lose fight. I cannot under any circumstances lose this fight in any way, shape, or form.”

Haye was similarly unequivocal when he told a few of us at his nearby gym south of the Thames in 2012 that he would not box past his 31st birthday. His reasoning was that he had always planned to win the world heavyweight title and walk away. But who in boxing would be surprised that his pledge soon enough turned to dust?

Circumstances have changed. As exciting as Haye is in the ring, he does not have the negotiating clout he once owned because he does not have a title to sell, which still matters to broadcasters. So, if Bellew were to overcome a deficit of speed, size and power to shock Haye, the Bermondsey heavyweight could well be finished.

Somehow, that does not figure as likely. Bellew, as inspirational as his up-and-down career has been, does not have enough tools to break through against a veteran operator who, according to his own estimate, is better now than when he was, like Bellew, a world cruiserweight title-holder.

Girding himself to unleash more negativity on Bellew, Haye continued: “I can guarantee you he’s going to be retiring this year. He won’t be boxing after 4 March, no way. Just like John Ruiz didn’t box, just like Mark de Mori, just like Arnold Gjergjaj, just like Nikolai Valuev. There are a lot of fighters, when I fight them, they stay hit for ever and never fight again. He will be on that list of people I’ve sent into retirement.

“I believe that he and his team have looked at the unknown, have looked at the question marks surrounding me and my physical condition and have taken the hope that I am not the man I used to be. If I am the man I used to be, there is only going to be one winner.

“What they fail to recognise is: ‘How about if I’m better than I ever have been?’ That’s something they have not put into the equation, and I can tell you when you see me step on to the scales on 3 March you will think: ‘David’s really taking it seriously now, he’s a real, genuine heavyweight, bigger and better than he has ever been and you’re going to see some real spectacular heavyweight knockouts.’”

He added, with chilling detachment: “He has put himself in a very, very dangerous position and I hope that if he does care for his family like he says he does, he does not invite them to the fight and makes sure he does not let them watch the fight on TV. It will be quite sad to witness what I’m going to do to their dad and husband.”

Ringside or watching on TV, don’t look away on fight night. This will not last long.