By Tim Parsons-

David Haye continued his verbal assault against Tony Bellew and his fans after the press conference at the Liverpool Hilton hotel yesterday.

Asked by youtube channel-IFTL if he would retract his words, the Londoner instead reasserted his claim “Where they? Yes or no? tell the truth.
“They were complete morons, all of them.
“Screaming and shouting, yobbering and spitting, throwing stuff. Real scum, scum of the earth.
“That’s what he’s ( Bellew) about. That’s his vibe. Remember I spoke about the dark, negative, horrible energy? That was what was there. We had 500 of his crew. You could smell it. It was disgusting. None of them had showered. Horrible. Anyway enough about them scumbags.”

Haye added: “I’m going to punch him so hard, but I’m not even allowed to say what’s going to happen now because it offends people.
“A fighter who has knocked out 26 of 28 opponents, who has broken noses, ruptured eye sockets, perforated ear drums and knocked people’s teeth out on a regular basis – I do it in sparring I do it in fights – but now I’m not allowed to actually talk about that side of things. It’s censored.”

I was at the press conference at Liverpool but did not notice any spitting, but if any spitting indeed occurred then that was low. Such fans will truly deserve to be called scumbags and morons, there is no excuse for such yobbish behaviour. Haye’s comments that several individuals in the crowd is funny because many people truly do feel comfortable to leave their homes without showering, sometimes for days, even weeks! That is a bad practice that does not apply to the more hygienic members of society, but it is hard to tell whether Haye could actually smell their stench from where he was or whether he was just running them down.

Haye appears extremely confident for this fight that one could be forgiven for thinking the Londoner is fighting a bum just coming in to get knocked out and pick up his pay cheque. Bellew, for Haye, is just an easy pay day who will be blown away so easily that if the Liverpool fighter really loves his family, he will not allow them witness the damage he will inflict on him. Bellew’s credentials as a cruiserweight champion is meaningless to Haye who insists that the Liverpool fighter did not face the same sort of challenges Haye had to face when he unified that division over a decade ago. Bellew is not a bad fighter, and the casual boxing fan would like to believe that any boxer who can win a world title at any weight class at least has something decent to offer any fighter in his division if focused.

That assumption may have been proved false when American heavyweight Charles Martin folded in two rounds against Britain’s Anthony Joshua, without putting up much of a show. The difference between Bellew and Martin is that the American was fortunate to win the title after his opponent ruptured his knee during a fight in which Martin was losing on points. Bellew has shown some ability in his fights and can hit hard himself, but Hate does seem to be a league away. An uncertain factor is how well Bellew will adjust to the heavyweight division in just his first fight at that weight against a menacing fighter like David Haye. Before the Bellew fight came along, David Haye had been placed as the mandatory fighter to real Australian heavyweight Joseph Parker’s WBO title- a fight that would have been more evenly balanced.

Analysing a business side of things, this appears a smarter, less risky option for Haye. There is still a risk that Bellew may embarrass Haye when the pair meet at the 02 arena, but Bellew will need to have a lot of hidden strength not visible in his outward appearance. In boxing, all it can take is one silly mistake, capitalised on by the other. Overconfidence may be Haye’s undoing, but its hard not to think that Bellew is privately worried. If Bellew is genuinely confident he can beat Haye, he deserves a lot of respect for that, and even more respect if he actually achieves that. Bellews fans will be hoping he does the job on Haye and rewards for correct predictions against Haye will be very high. Haye has not approached this fight in a very dignified manner, but he shows just how much he dislikes Bellew.

The serious threats to hospitalise Bellew is closely being considered by the British boxing board of governors, and Bellew will really have to be at his sharpest, if he doesn’t want the threat to come true. He has three days to continue to ponder how he will approach this fight.

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• Date
  28th February 2017