David Haye has effectively confirmed that he will fight Tony Bellew again.
Bellew scored a dramatic upset victory over Haye back in March at the O2 Arena in London, stopping him in the 11th round.
The Liverpudlian was widely considered to be the underdog going into the fight, his first at heavyweight, but managed to beat the odds by defeating Haye, who suffered an Achilles injury in the sixth round, but bravely fought on.
The pair engaged in a war of words before the bout, which went beyond the trash talk that accompanies many pay-per-view fights.
Bellew has reignited the war of words with Haye… https://t.co/WQYesUfvhS
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 9, 2017
Haye said he would leave Bellew in hospital, and was fined £25,000 for his remarks by the British Boxing Board of Control. Bellew was also warned about his future conduct. The 34-year-old called Haye “an absolute scumbag” for his comments.
Given the animosity between the pair, and the potential money on offer for both fighters, a rematch seemed inevitable following the final bell back in March. However, in August, Eddie Hearn, Bellew’s promoter, said any chance of a rematch between them was “virtually dead.”
“I don’t think Bellew-Haye will happen. Although there were hugs and kisses in the ring after the fight, trying to get these two to agree to anything is a complete disaster.”
Andre Ward was mentioned as a potential opponent for Bellew, but a bout failed to materialise. Haye has now recovered from his ruptured Achilles and it looks like the pair will fight again.
On Tuesday afternoon, Haye tweeted saying terms had been agreed for a rematch, after “months of negotiating”, before asking if Bellew will “put pen to paper”, suggesting that his rival has yet to officially agree to the bout.
It’s taken months of negotiating but teams have finally agreed ALL terms for #HayeBellew2 Will 🍕Bellew put pen to paper✍🏼?!#RevengeOrRepeat pic.twitter.com/zasUDDdAe7
— David Haye (@davidhaye) September 19, 2017
However, according to reports, the fight has been agreed in principle, and both parties will sign contracts next week. The fight is said to be scheduled for December at London’s 02 Arena, with December 17th, a Sunday night, a possible date.
Haye appears to have started the trash talk again, including a pizza emoji beside Bellew’s name in his tweet. This seems to be dig at Bellew’s recent participation in an advert for a pizza company, and an indicator of the level of trash talk that we’ll encounter over the next few months.
If you want to order the new @PapaJohnsUK #DeepCrust pizza for half-time use NPJ50OFF15 at the checkout #ad pic.twitter.com/sa6PiLJo95
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) September 17, 2017
