Monday 20 February 2017 11:56, UK
Tony Bellew has engaged David Haye in a heated war of words ahead of next year's grudge fight.
The Liverpudlian was crowned WBC cruiserweight champion in May after an explosive knockout win over Illunga Makabu at Goodison Park and immediately kicked off a verbal battle with Haye, which continued after Bellew's crushing defeat of Haye's friend BJ Flores.
Haye happily accepted the challenge from Bellew and they will settle their feud at The O2 on March 4, live on Sky Sports Box Office. The British rivals should have plenty more to say in the coming weeks...
"You've gone long enough fighting those clowns. I just beat the best cruiserweight in the world, I'm the best now."
"Congratulations, winning in your hometown, in front of your own fans, your football club, blah-blah-blah... But maybe that punch you took in the first round scrambled your brain because it looks like you really want to get knocked out by calling me a Bermondsey B****, talking about knocking me out. You must have lost your mind."
"I was an unknown amateur at the time. What I will say is that I wasn't the guy pulling out of a fight 24 hours after that sparring session. He got his backside kicked and then pulled out of the Mark Hobson fight after that session. Hobson actually told him that he'd heard he'd been beaten up by two Scousers in Liverpool and that's why.
"He's got his views and I've got mine. The difference is that mine are the truth and his aren't. He called me a chump but he knows I'm not a chump because I gave him hell in a sparring session back then. The best person to ask on that sparring session is his trainer, Adam Booth. He got bounced all over the ring by me and David Price."
"He's fighting guys who learned to box on the internet. You wouldn't employ these guys as sparring partners. He's conning the public and it's wrong what he's doing
"The David Haye of old was a brilliant, top-level fighter but now it's sad what he's doing to boxing because he's fighting these guys claiming they're boxing matches but they're not. They're freak shows
"Funny enough, you make me laugh. I tuned into your channel, it was after watching Bullseye, but funnily I got to watch you fighting Lurch. Stop messing around, stop conning the British public, and let's do a real fight.
"We want to see a fight, not you with your top off, not you posing around or in nightclubs. We want to see you have a fight lad. Get on with it, tart."
"Tony is 33 and the Haye fight is so big financially, compared to other fights out there, that it is something you've got to take seriously. You have to remember, Tony came down to 200 pounds and would probably have preferred to fight at 210 against Ilunga Makabu. Can Haye get down to 210 or thereabouts? Probably
"I can't see Haye manoeuvring a shot at heavyweight just yet, and he wants big money fights. He can't get on Sky Sports Box Office but he can if he fights Bellew."
"Listen party fiend! I call the shots! You know why? Cos I faced the guy NO ONE wanted to face! Keep partying playboy! Let me get 1 thing straight I'll smash you and your playboy friend the #B****FromBermondsey [Haye]." (Twitter)
"I don't think Tony is going to win the fight. BJ is a big cruiserweight. Look at them next to each other, there's not a lot in it at first sight but Tony is tall and skinny whereas BJ is wide and thick-set and can punch.
"If Tony somehow manages to beat BJ - which he won't do - we can talk. Tony makes plenty of noise so we'll see, but he's got his hands full with BJ."
"You see him? He's been conning the British public since his pathetic comeback started. The last two guys you fought are working on nightclub doors, or they're putting the bins out. You see you? You're gonna get smashed too.
"With 10 ounce gloves on, I'll put you and your pathetic haircut to sleep. Brother, I'm the biggest payday you've got right now."
"Bellew has dynamite in his fists but would that work on me? I don't think so. He was taking a few big shots in the process [against Flores], his defence was leaky. Against me, that'd take one shot.
"I've been a heavyweight for eight or nine years. If he wants to come up, it's an easy night's work. I'll probably knock him out with a jab."
"The last two guys he has fought are a joke. One was called 'The Cobra', he should have been called 'The Worm', and the other fella was an internet-trained boxer.
"Come and fight a real world champion. I am the best cruiserweight in the world and let's be totally honest here, David Haye isn't a genuine, legitimate heavyweight. He's originally a cruiserweight, he once had this belt and now I'm saying I'm the best cruiserweight in the world.
"A lot of people are stopping me and wishing that I smash him up so badly that he can't keep screaming and shouting, so it is interesting. People really want to see him get battered that badly. People in boxing now are used to fighters jumping through weight divisions to make the fights that the fans want to see and if the fans want to see it then I'm definitely interested in it.
"As I said, I will knock him out with a jab, and I stand by that, it wasn't just a flippant comment, I'll genuinely knock him out with a jab. I'd like it to happen, whether he wants it to happen or not is a different thing.
"It's one thing saying a thing after your fight when your adrenaline is flowing - you're all excited and you have just knocked someone out.
"If he can sit down and think to himself 'okay, I've got a shot at actually getting out of the ring in one piece against David Haye', if he genuinely believes that, and his promoter believes it, then we could make something happen."
"I think Haye sees me as a decent reward but a big risk. He knows deep down I am not an easy touch. He can say all he wants but he knows when we get in the trenches I am not an easy touch for anyone.
"We will see what he does, but my career does not revolve around David Haye. If David Haye thinks I need him, he is sorely mistaken. I just want a big fight."
