If all of this is an act, David Haye is fully committed to it.
And if the British heavyweight boxer can land as many punches on Tony Bellew tomorrow night, as he has insults this week, it’ll be a short night’s work.
Haye has repeatedly said that he plans to do serious damage to his opponent in their grudge match at London’s O2 Arena.
You might say that such talk is all part of selling a fight, and Haye isn’t the first boxer to cross the line.
The great Muhammad Ali referred to Joe Frazier as an “Uncle Tom” and a “gorilla” ahead of their three legendary fights in the 1970s. There was also the time Mike Tyson said he would “eat” Lennox Lewis’ children.
However, considering boxers have suffered serious injuries, and have even died in the ring, some of Haye’s comments have been somewhat unsettling.
The 36-year-old, former WBA heavyweight champion, said he plans to “hospitalise” Bellew and that he aims to “do a complete and utter destruction job” on Saturday night.
Haye was already facing an investigation by the British Boxing Board of Control for saying he aims to put his opponent in hospital. Which is probably why he went a step further on Thursday, telling the Liverpool native to:
“Enjoy your last days. There’s not going to be another day. This is the last day for you. That’s it, it’s over.”
In for a penny, in for a pound.
This is a bit much https://t.co/ROpZtLVh0P
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 2, 2017
Bellew, it must be said, has played his part in the bitterness between the pair. The 34-year-old got into a heated exchange with Haye back in October, following his victory over BJ Flores.
Bellew explodes at David Haye seconds after beating Flores! pic.twitter.com/H1VlgbfZyI
— Paul Zanon (@PaulZanon1972) October 15, 2016
The animosity between the pair seems to be genuine, and few expect them to be exchanging pleasantries following the fight, or the bout to go the distance.
You probably won’t catch Haye at an Everton or Liverpool football match anytime soon either, after he insulted Bellew’s fans at a press conference earlier this week.
The Londoner called Bellew’s fans from Liverpool “f**king retards.” He later refused to retract the comment, saying that some of the abuse he received from the fans was racist, a claim disputed by Bellew.
“There [was] no racial element from the crowd,” Bellew said.
“How can they be racist towards him when I’m just as black as him? My mother’s black – she’s blacker than David. He’s a liar. A proven liar.”
Haye was asked again on Thursday about his insult towards Bellew’s supporters, and, yet again, doubled down on his comments.
According to the Liverpool Echo, the 36-year-old said that the Liverpudlian Bellew supporters should “bet all of their dole money” on the boxer to win the bout, implying that people from the city are unemployed.
“They are morons. I don’t want to spend much more time focusing about them,” Haye said.
“Get them to bet all of their dole money on Tony Bellew to win the fight, if they are so confident.
“Hopefully they will lose all of the money they get off the government.”
Catch up with this week’s episode of 888sport Football Friday Live
