This feature was originally published in Boxing News magazine
IโLL be totally honest, beating Junior [Ilunga] Makabu at Goodison Park was the greatest night of my career. Iโd say the greatest night of my life but my wife would kill me. Itโs crazy that my career is still going on because it wonโt get any better than that. Iโm over the moon. It was a dream fight at dream location against a nightmare opponent; I hate southpaws, particularly big-punching southpaws, I despise them with a passion. But I had to go in there as the underdog, and I made people eat humble pie again.
I should have arrived at Goodison two hours before the fight, but I arrived just under three hours before. I wanted to get a feel for it โ not enjoy it โ but soak it up, and get a feeling for what Iโd achieved and how I got there. I got to the dressing room a bit early, and from there I got to the ground and I walked up the steps. I wanted to have a look at the ring while the lads were fighting in there [on the undercard]. As I went running up the stairs some lads came running over, โTony, can we have a picture?โ The security did a good a job, and said, โNot now guys, after the fight you can do whatever you want.โ Then I just heard, โDad.โ I froze. Bear in mind, my son had never been to one of my fights and heโll never go to another one. It was just that I had to have him there on that night, because when my three boys get older and I wanted one of them to say they were there that night. He was 11, and I wanted him to experience it. Heโd always begged me to go to fights and Iโd always said no. Iโve boxed in arenas and thatโs no place for a young child, dangerous and nasty things happen there sometimes, and he understands that.
So Iโm at the top of the stairs when I heard him call me. No one was with me apart from security and even now, thinking back to when I heard his voice, it makes me feel like crying. I looked at my sonโs face, he was saying, โDad. Dad?โ I had no words for him, and I just started crying. I went back down the tunnel, back to the dressing room, and I thought, โWhat have I got myself into? What have I done?โ It hit me harder than anything has ever hit me in my life. I walked back to the dressing room and [my trainer] Dave [Coldwell] was in there and he didnโt know what to do. He was shocked. Everyone was taken out, I needed to get myself together, I was in tears and all I could think was, โI canโt believe my son is here at the boxing.โ I couldnโt believe that my little lad was going to see me go to f*****g war and do what I do. Because when I get into a fight, it isnโt a boxing match, Iโm giving it everything Iโve got. In a fight I will never bitch, I will never sidetrack, I will fight it head-on. The night I went in with Makabu it was kill or be killed, and I donโt like talking about boxing like that, but thatโs how it was. Iโd have done anything and everything to win that night. Thatโs my mentality in every fight, which is a scary thing, but that night was different. The location, the title, the crowd, my son. Looking back, it is like a movie. Iโd spent every other Saturday at that location since I was 10 years old, at Goodison Park, watching Everton Football Club; Iโd dreamed of being a player but Iโm not good enough! That was the closest I was ever gonna get. I struggle to put it into words. I hope when people say my name, I hope they also say Goodison Park.
It went by in a flash, but you canโt stay in the moment. I wish I could go back. Actually, no, I donโt. When he hit me in that first round he broke my nose and it hurt. It really f*****g hurt. But I do wish that it lasted longer, I wish instead of hours it had been days.
How did I feel the next morning? My nose was sore. I didnโt sleep that night. I remember getting home and just putting the tele on straight away and thinking, โLad, what have you done?โ It was 7am, I was in the kitchen and I hadnโt slept. My missus come down and we were crying. I just said, โWeโve done it.โ Iโve been with my missus since she was 17 and I was 18, Iโve known her since we were nine years old, sheโs been my mate for nearly 30 years, since we were kids. The two of us canโt believe where weโve come from. We grew up a mile apart from each other.
I donโt care what happens now. Donโt get me wrong, Iโve got great nights ahead, Iโm in the prime of my career right now, but itโs sad to say Iโve had my defining moment. It doesnโt matter what I achieve from here. I could knock David Haye out in 10 seconds, it wonโt matter, Iโve had my night. I achieved my dream, and not many people can say that.
Six or eight months before that Haye put a Tweet out: โWho wants it can get it.โ I replied, โListen bitch, Iโll have some of that.โ Then he said, โDo you guys want to see me knock out the mouthy Scouser?โ
A bit later he asked me if I really wanted to fight him. Too right I did. Heโs a cruiserweight really, itโs not like you were asking me to go in with Wladimir Klitschko. Youโre asking me to go in with a former cruiserweight world champion, not a monster.
Then it went quiet. And then in December last year, he wanted me to pull out of the Mateusz Masternak fight. He told me to fight on his bill in January instead, on the comedy channel, Dave. He asked me what I was getting [paid] and I told him it was none of his business. He said, โPull out, Iโll double your money. Fight against a no mark heavyweight and then fight me.โ So the plan was for him to fight Mark de Mori and instead of โThe Cobraโ [Arnold Gjergjaj] or should I say โThe Maggot.โ I told him I was with Eddie [Hearn]. He asked if Iโd got a promotional contract with him. I donโt need a contract, heโs got my word and Iโve got his, and thatโs how we go. And then Haye knew I was serious.
We didnโt talk though. But after I beat Makabu, he realised I was a big name on my own. Iโd done a stadium fight and he probably thought, โThereโs money in him.โ
I sat down with Eddie to work out my first defence and I wanted Dmytro Kucher. I wanted a hard fight, but Eddie told me to put my business head on, and spoke of BJ Flores. The bitchโs [Hayeโs] best mate. That got my attention, the two of them are f*****g nightclub buddies. When Haye passed a comment that he thought Flores would beat me, that was it, I decided I wanted Flores. Haye got Flores a payday, and an arse-whooping. I bounced Flores off the floor.
Then the fight with Haye was set. People criticise me for causing a scene, for starting trouble, but Iโm never the one to initiate things. Look back at the Nathan Cleverly press conference. He said he would take me in the car park. I reacted. Itโs very similar to the Haye situation. During the BJ Flores fight, Haye had removed himself from Sky Sports, come round the ring post corner, and heโs giving me verbals while Iโm dropping his mate. Iโd dropped him three times, and itโs in the second round. While the referee is counting over Flores I looked at Haye. โListen bitch, youโre gonna get it.โ And heโs engaging me. Everyone thought it was planned, it wasnโt planned, at least not from my point of view. When it got to the end, I kicked the f*****g toblerone at him and said, โWe can do it right now you tart.โ In all honesty, I had no intention of belting him. I would never hit a fighter that hasnโt got gloves on. But I wanted to let him know I wasnโt just here for a payday. I acted that way because I knew it would secure me the fight, and thatโs what I wanted.
I could lose control. I hope to God it never happens, but I could lose control if I was touched. The luckiest thing for him at the press conference was they grabbed hold of me as soon as he hit me on the side of the head. If they hadnโt, trust me, Iโd have manhandled him to the floor. He can look as big as he wants but Iโm a different person on the street than I am in the boxing ring. The things that make me tick donโt make him tick, Iโll rip the nose off his face. When I flip a switch, itโs over. You only have to watch me fight; I got dropped flat on my face by Ovill McKenzie [in 2010] and the referee has counted to six, and Iโm telling him to move out of the f*****g way. Thatโs the kind of person I am.
The crazy thing in this fight is Iโm being written off by absolutely everyone. Yes, Haye is a fantastic athlete. Yes, he has massive power and aesthetically, he looks fantastic. But now the negatives. Is he that good technically? No. Is he hard to hit? No. When was the last time he was in a hard fight? When was the last time he even sparred hard? When was the last time he asked questions of himself? Iโm not calling his last two fights โfightsโ. They were exhibitions. He wouldnโt even spar with those guys.
People have suggested this has all been scripted. I swear on my kidsโ lives that this rivalry is not scripted, the press conference wasnโt scripted. Iโll be honest, heโd have liked to have scripted it and the minute the contract was signed, the warning shot was sent straight to him: โDonโt think this is a f*****g game. Do not think that I am f*****g about. Donโt ever try and tell me what to say. Iโm going to put it on you when I see you.โ His reaction was, โWeโll see about that you Scouse c**t.โ And that was the last conversation we ever had. We donโt speak no more and Iโm going to punch his f*****g head in. Heโs no friend of mine. It was purely business, but, after heโs thrown a punch without gloves on, itโs now personal. He better hope he doesnโt see me when there isnโt cameras there.
Look, Iโll be honest. The David Haye that knocked out Jean Marc Mormeck [in 2007] might have been a task too far for me. I admit that. But this version of David Haye? A bit slower, heavier, a step behind? Heโs perfect for me. Donโt get me wrong, this will be a killer for me for four rounds. Itโs 50-50. Maybe even 60-40 in his favour because heโs a frontrunner. But after four rounds, believe me, he is f****d. Heโs absolutely f****d. No one understands that. Iโm going to hit him everywhere I can get my hands on him, whether itโs the body, the neck, that stupid haircut, his chin.
Donโt think for one minute Iโm going to run. I did that once, against Adonis Stevenson, and itโs the biggest regret of my career. I should have just gone out in that fight and traded with him, because I had the power to do him like he did me. That is my biggest regret, and I will never make that mistake again. Iโd rather go in one [round], than go in the sixth trying to box. The pressure for me has gone. I always had the pressure I put on myself to be world champion, but Iโve done it. The pressure is all on him.