David Haye and Tony Bellew have been warned by the British Boxing Board of Control following “extremely disappointing comments” in the buildup to Saturday’s heavyweight bout in London.
Haye branded Bellew’s supporters “fucking retards” after being taunted by crowds during a press conference in Liverpool on Monday, with the fighters having to be separated by security. The former heavyweight world champion also provided graphic descriptions of how he intended to hurt his opponent, stating he had trained to “punch through” the head of the WBC cruiserweight champion before adding that he wanted to do “real damage”.
That has led the BBBofC general secretary, Robert Smith, to call for both men to be “sensible” following recent “tragedies” in the sport, including the death of the Scottish boxer Mike Towell after he was seriously injured in a bout in October and Nick Blackwell, who fell into a coma after being stopped in the 10th round of his British middleweight title defence against Chris Eubank Jr last year.
According to the BBC, Smith spoke to both fighters before Monday’s event and again before another news conference on Thursday and Friday’s weigh-in, he made further contact to outline the BBBofC’s “position and disappointment”. He said: “We are all aware this is a tough sport and there are tragedies. We don’t need people acting in this manner.”
Earlier on Wednesday the promoter Eddie Hearn insisted Haye remains fit to fight Bellew on Saturday despite reports suggesting an achilles injury could lead to his withdrawal.
The heavyweight had been pictured in Munich on Tuesday with the respected surgeon Dr Hans-Wilhelm Müller-Wohlfahrt leading to reports that Saturday’s grudge match was in doubt.
However, Hearn has revealed he learnt about a concern with Haye’s achilles weeks ago. He is also adamant that the 36-year-old will be in the ring on Saturday and that he risks “not fighting in Britain again” if he does not.
It was in Munich that Dr Müller-Wohlfahrt operated on Haye’s injured right shoulder in 2013, when for the second time he had been forced to withdraw from a fight against Tyson Fury. He also once withdrew from facing Wladimir Klitschko when he claimed he had suffered a back injury. The combination of the two affected his popularity and led to questions surrounding his desire and Hearn – the co-promoter of the fight at London’s O2 Arena – referenced that when he said: “If he didn’t fight, he couldn’t step in a British ring again. If he wasn’t fighting, I’d know. He will be in the ring.
“I’d heard about an achilles [problem] a few weeks back but he was playing football on Soccer AM at the weekend. If you’re that worried about an achilles injury you’re not playing football, are you? It’s known he sometimes goes to Munich for treatment. That’s where he had surgery on his shoulder.”Saturday’s fight represents the third of the comeback Haye started in January 2016. His shoulder injury had contributed to nearly four years of inactivity, and he said this week he does not expect to still be fighting in two years.
