Tony Bellew and David Haye are in the building.
There are just a few hours to go now until the British rivals get the chance to settle their differences in the ring in the centre of London’s O2 Arena.
The build-up to one of the grudge matches of the century has been littered with trash talk that, in the eyes of many, went too far at stages.
We’ve seen Haye take aim at the people of Bellew’s native Liverpool, labelling them “fucking retards,” before issuing a series of chilling threats to ‘Bomber’, who is set to make his heavyweight debut tonight.
Bellew’s physique was mocked by ‘The Hayemaker’ at the weigh-ins while Bellew has remained relatively quiet by comparison.
The vast majority of Haye’s trash talk has been aimed at Liverpudlians but, on Saturday, the football club whose home was the location for Bellew’s WBC cruiserweight title victory got involved.
Everton, Bellew’s hometown club, decided to engage in a spot of good, old-fashioned trolling as they mocked Haye prior to the opening bell.
👊🏼 | Good luck to massive Evertonian @TonyBellew tonight. Wouldn't be the first time @mrdavidhaye has been defeated by a Toe… #HayeBellew pic.twitter.com/GFb1vAOPzz
— Everton (@Everton) March 4, 2017
Everton took the piss out of London’s Haye for his 2011 defeat to Wladimir Klitschko, a loss which Haye blamed on a broken toe that prevented him from performing to the best of his abilities against the Ukrainian heavyweight.
“I just couldn’t push off from my right foot,” Haye said after the fight. “I’ve had injuries before, but I have a good team around me who have been able to mask my injuries. Maybe my luck just ran out.”
Will Haye have to come up with another excuse if he falls to an upset in the O2 Arena? Or will his menacing threats to Bellew prove true?
The good news is that we don’t have long to wait.
