What has it been like working with David Haye?
It’s been great. When we first started I was, I wouldn’t say worried, I was surprised at how out of shape he was. But he’s been out of the ring for two and a half years. He couldn’t really do a minute with any real intensity without being gassed out.
He’s surprised with the way I’m training him, with the intensity he’s having to train at because as a heavyweight he’s not going to be throwing as many punches as a super-bantamweight. I’m trying to keep him on his toes. I believe that if I can keep his speed there, his reflexes and head movement, when he has a big robotic guy in front of him, he’ll be able to see the shots a lot more and take his time.
What is it he’s come to you for, what are the new things you’re doing with him?
I think every trainer has their way of training fighters. I think him and Adam [Booth] worked well when he was youthful. I think he still would work well but a lot of their training was very ballistic training and his body was just breaking down.
If you look at the way David fights, he fights very reckless. He has to take risks to negate the distance because he’s fighting bigger guys. To be hitting these guys on the head, around the body, on their elbows, when you’re naturally slightly smaller, it does take that little extra toll.
It’s not about just getting through training camps for Mark de Mori or Tyson Fury, it’s where you want to go after it and how you want to live your life for the rest of your life. Whether you want to live in pain or in comfort. We’ve taken a more scientific approach, less ballistic training. He’s a naturally explosive guy, he doesn’t need to be jumping and bounding all the time and putting that wear and tear on his joints.
We’re taking each day as it comes, working on the structure and working on a couple of technical things that he has to brush up on. But I’m not going to change him. Adam Booth laid the foundation and he did a fantastic job. If I can add a couple of things to his game and get him in shape, we’ll see what’s going to come on January 16.
He’s done all the right corrective excercises to get his body back in shape and it’s just about bringing what I’ve seen in the gym to the table on January 16 against the likes of Mark de Mori.
How many times do you see him fighting in 2016?
He wants to fight two or three times a year. If the right fights are there then he’ll do it. I believe he doesn’t need to have too many comeback fights.
It’s not a rushed decision, we’ll take each fight as it comes. David’s a very smart guy, he’s a very shrewd guy. He’s got his plans. There’s the Anthony Joshua fight out there, which is a massive fight for both parties and I’m not sure if they’ll take it in the first 12 months, maybe 12-16 months we’re looking at that. But we’ll be ready.
Is Joshua the ultimate target?
I’ve seen [Haye] sparring Deontay Wilder, I’ve seen the footage. Widler’s probably improved a little bit since then. I’m not sure. When you’ve got those 10 ounce gloves on anything can happen with these big guys. That’s a fight that’s definitely out there. Widler’s there, Joshua’s there.
Tyson Fury, I don’t know if he’ll be happy to train for another camp on that. But there are lots of exciting fights out there. What’s more, the heavyweight division has been so boring for the last 10 years… It’s about time they got the most exciting person back.
It’s only going to add for exciting fights down the line.
De Mori’s number seven with the WBA and we’re looking to get world titles back.
