DAVID HAYE refuses to apologise for the various controversial comments he has thrown at Tony Bellew during the heated build-up to their heavyweight fight this Saturday.
Haye has vowed to “cave in his [Bellew’s] skull” and warned the Liverpudlian to “enjoy his last few days,” among other unnecessary jibes.
However the Londoner, no stranger to causing a stir with his words, feels people need to take into account just how brutal boxing can be.
“Society is too sensitive. Boxing is a sport where people get punched in the head,” he said.
“It’s a tough sport, so what are words when someone can get their eye socket ruptured with one punch? Kell Brook got his eye socket ruptured, if [Gennady] Golovkin was to say before ‘I’m going to rupture his eye socket’ people would say it’s terrible, but he goes and does it and gets paid millions for it. It’s the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts.
“When you break boxing down, it’s two heavy-hitting athletes punching each other in the head. Your head wasn’t designed to be punched like that. It’s the hardest sport on the planet and they have weight categories for a reason.”
Bellew, the current WBC cruiserweight champion, is moving up to heavyweight in order to settle his differences with Haye, a former unifed cruiserweight king and heavyweight champion.
As one of the biggest names in British boxing, Haye’s comments have hogged the headlines over the past few weeks while Bellew has continually labelled him a “disgrace”.
The 36-year-old however remains unperturbed – provided his performances in the ring are what people remember.
“I’m not back in boxing to gain fans. I don’t care, I don’t need any fans,” he said.
“Mike Tyson, when he was knocking everybody out, he wasn’t saying anything nice to gain fans. People thought it was horrendous, but they tuned in to watch him. I don’t care about being liked, I don’t need to be liked, as long as people respect what I do when I’m in that ring.
“I want to make sure people remember what I do in the ring.”
