Tony Bellew vividly remembers the time he was hit so hard that, much like a donkey, his back leg performed an involuntary kick.
The former world cruiserweight champion faced no small amount of power punchers, including the likes of Adonis Stevenson and Illunga Makabu, throughout his storied career.
But it was David Haye who, perhaps most notably, represented a particularly formidable challenge ahead of their first heavyweight encounter in 2017.
As it turned out, the ‘Hayemaker’, by that point, was a far cry from the once explosive sharpshooter that unified the cruiserweight division nearly a decade earlier, as Bellew won by 11th round stoppage.
Haye was, of course, inching ever-closer towards his retirement, and with a long list of injuries not exactly helping matters, the Londoner also suffered a second stoppage defeat to Bellew in 2018.
Instead, it was in 2005 that Bellew felt the full force of Haye’s power, so ferocious that even sparring gloves and headgear offered minimal protection.
Back then, Haye was gearing up for his British cruiserweight title shot against Mark Hobson, only for a hamstring injury to ultimately scupper their showdown.
But even while carrying the injury, at around two weeks before his scheduled contest, Haye was determined to have a move around with Olympic bronze medallist David Price.
Then, upon his arrival in Liverpool, the then-24-year-old discovered that he would not only be sparring Price, but also sharing a few rounds with Bellew, who had just won the English National Championships as an amateur.
Speaking with Lock&T, Bellew gives an honest account of exactly what unfolded during their rounds behind closed doors.
“Still, to this day, that’s the hardest I’ve ever been hit.
“I came out and just did this [adopted a high guard], like a stupid fool. He just put his hand in my face.
“Like an idiot, I tried to look around [his left hand], and before I knew [what was happening], this uppercut came right through the middle and hit me on the chin.
“My head just went up and my back leg [kicked out], for no reason. I said to him, ‘Good shot,’ and he looked at me as if to say, ‘You should be on the floor.’”
Of his 28 career wins, Haye ended 26 by knockout. He is one of only three men, alongside Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk, to unify the cruiserweight division before winning a world heavyweight title.
