Both fighters suffered injuries during Saturday’s big heavyweight clash at London’s O2 Arena.
David Haye injured his Achilles in the sixth round, and fought on for a further five founds, despite being barely able to walk.
However, despite launching a series of verbal assaults towards Tony Bellew before the fight, he refused to blame the injury on his loss to the Liverpudlian.
It wasn't *just* David Haye that was injured last night… https://t.co/kqfN6quq6D
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 5, 2017
“It is what it is, he beat me fair and square and there are no excuses,” Haye told reporters.
“I gave him my best, he took it and gave it back to me. I couldn’t take it.”
Bellew, who won the bout with a stoppage in the 11th round, claimed after the fight that he broke his hand with a punch early in the fight.
“I broke my right hand in the second or third round. It’s sore now but I don’t feel the pain, all I think about is winning,” Bellew said.
"He shook his head" https://t.co/lqk5VeexC9
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 5, 2017
The 34-year-old showed his broken right hand to the Sky Sports News cameras on Sunday morning when reflecting on his upset win.
Bellew’s hand was still noticeably swollen.
The 34-year-old also admitted that he was ‘scared’ entering the ring against Haye, who had threatened to leave him in hospital before the fight.
“I’m scared, when I came into the ring I was scared for the first time in my life, for my health more than anything,” Bellew said.
“But I have a switch and when it flips I scare myself because I can’t give in.
He also paid Anthony Joshua the ultimate compliment… https://t.co/NaXEtpfYbp
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) March 5, 2017
“I’ve been hit harder than I’ve ever been hit for my life, but I’m a scouser and we can’t give in. I can’t back down and that’s the scary thing.Â
“I don’t want to keep doing it because it’s a hard sport – all I want to do is be healthy enough to raise my kids and see them get old.”
WATCH: “I defied the odds again.”@TonyBellew reflects on his win v @MrDavidHaye
REPEATS: https://t.co/3SylwadiRO https://t.co/YT8g037B3W— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) March 5, 2017
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