I’M happy David Haye’s retired because I wouldn’t want to see his legacy get tarnished any more. He goes down as one of the all-time greats for me in British boxing. He’s got a claim to be the greatest cruiserweight this country has ever produced. He’s got a stake at saying he’s one of the best heavyweights this country has produced as well. He’s a legend, I’m just happy he’s got out at the right time. As he’s said himself, he’s got out financially secure.
I’ve always respected David Haye as a fighter. He’s amazing, he’s immense at what he does and he should be very, very proud of what he’s achieved in boxing. He got in this game to become a world champion and he’s done it over and over again. Fair play to him. My professional opinion will always remain.
I’m very grateful for the praise from him. He was a better fighter than me, I’ve always said that. Styles make fights.
He’s been someone I’ve always looked up to, someone I’ve always admired from a boxing perspective. He’s just a quality fighter.
Boxing is a very unforgiving sport if you don’t get out at the right time. He could probably have got Shannon Briggs and sold out the O2 and earned another few more million. He’s not what he was. He’s not what he was when he fought Enzo Maccarinelli.
I’m not saying he’s better than Evander Holyfield, the greatest cruiserweight ever, but I’ll tell you something David Haye on the form he was on in Paris that night, he was good enough to beat any cruiserweight. He really was.
We didn’t start off doing this sport for money. Let’s not forget when we started doing this, we did it free. We did it to knock people out and win the ABA title. It goes on and on and you get better and better. There never is money until you get to the pinnacle. I’m the perfect example of that.
As for Tyson Fury on Saturday, it wasn’t a fight was it? Let’s be honest. It’s just a circus. But listen, he’s entitled to one of them for his first one back, I’m not going to lie. Your first one back after a few years, you kind of give him one them. It’s all about for me who he takes on after this. He has to fight someone now who’s ranked. What I’m saying is he has to fight someone who we know. He has to fight a Robert Helenius maybe, someone like Manuel Charr. He has to fight someone we know.
I’ll wait and see his next move. One thing I’ll say is I’m happy he’s back. It’s good for boxing that Tyson Fury is back in the heavyweight division. It just makes boxing better. He’s a mouth, he talks, he can actually fight. But I’m not too sure if he’s ever going to see anything like what he was in Dusseldorf. I don’t know if we’re ever going to see that. The prime version of Tyson Fury, I’ve seen up close, I’ve seen him against Steve Cunningham in New York and if Steve Cunningham can put a prime Tyson Fury flat on his back, then make no mistake I can knock him clean out.
Let’s take away the farcical victory over Wladimir Klitschko. Neither of them threw punches, they danced around like it was a dancing contest. Let’s say his best win, barring that, you’d have to say it was Steven Cunningham.
I know the Tyson Fury in Dusseldorf, that’s a very hard night for me and I’d take an awful lot of stick. But if I fight the Tyson Fury that fought Sefer Seferi the other night, then I’d knock him out and it would be pretty quick as well. Because I punch harder than him, there’s no two ways about it.
At this weight that I’m at now, I feel stronger than ever and I’d love to prove everyone wrong.
