David Haye to act ‘like a lunatic’ no longer

DAVID HAYE says not acting like a โ€œlunaticโ€ in the build-up to his rematch with Tony Bellew will bring about a different result at the O2 Arena.

An injured Haye was surprisingly defeated in their first fight in March 2017 when Bellew stepped up two weights and produced an 11th-round stoppage.

The build-up to that bout was marred by bad blood, with the two trading insults and even punches at their pre-fight press conference. Haye was also reprimanded for his comments saying he would โ€œlegally do as much damage as I can inflictโ€.


The pair will go at it again next Saturday and with interest in this pay-per-view fight already high, Haye has this time not allowed himself to get embroiled in Bellewโ€™s โ€œball of hateโ€ and says he will be better for it.

โ€œThere is no drama whatsoever and it has been nice not to have that negative energy,โ€ he said at a media lunch at the Park Plaza in London.

โ€œI remember prior to the first fight I wasnโ€™t in the right head space, I wasnโ€™t in the right frame of mind.

โ€œIt might have been the right frame of mind for people to be interested in the fight, because I was doing and saying crazy things so it seemed like I was a lunatic and people really seemed to like that.

โ€œFor me as a boxer that doesnโ€™t work, I donโ€™t get the best out of myself, I am a timing guy, I am a guy who uses speed and skills and athleticism and I was walking around feeling angry and I snookered myself by having that mindset.

โ€œI have reined it in. The first time around I screamed and shouted because I believe the fight needed that. I embraced the hype way too much.

โ€œBut when you have got all the beef, when heโ€™s coming at me, kicking Toblerones, swearing at meโ€ฆalthough we were both saying some horrendous things, it made people tune in and watch the fight.

โ€œFortunately, this time, off the strength of the first fight, I donโ€™t need to scream and shout, I can let my boxing do the talking.

โ€œHe loves an argument, he would argue with himself in the mirror, he is just an argumentative human being, always angry.

โ€œHe is just a ball of hate and I somehow allowed myself to get into that โ€˜hate zoneโ€™ with him, he is a natural born hater and I am not really.

โ€œSo this time he can do all the moaning.โ€

david haye and tony bellew battle it out again at the o2 arena in london next saturday
David Haye and Tony Bellew battle it out again at the O2 Arena in London next Saturday (Nick Potts/PA)

Despite being 37, Haye wants to rise back to the top of a division where he once fought for the unification of all four belts againstย Wladimir Klitschko.

To be able to do that, though, he accepts he needs to put on a polished show against Bellew.

He added: โ€œIf I want to achieve the very best in the division and win the titles, this fight against Tony Bellew canโ€™t be a 50-50 fight, I canโ€™t be getting knocked down, cut, hurt because if I can dispatch Tony Bellew in real clinical fashion then whatโ€™s it all about?โ€

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