Boxing:David Haye has never been short of a few words and leads the way in self-promotion, but the challenger outdid himself today when coming face-to-face with IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in Germany.
Sporting a T-shirt that featured a caricature of him holding the heads of both Wladimir and his heavyweight champion brother Vitali - one in each hand – he declared war on the Ukrainians and said the world would see the “beginning of a legend” when the two meet at Gelsenkirchen’s Veltins Arena on June 20th.
His opponent was not impressed and insisted he will enjoy punishing Haye before knocking him out.
“I am coming here to shock the world,” announced Haye. “I am not coming over to pick up a pay cheque like the rest of Wladimir’s opponents.
“On June 20th, people will realise that I am the real deal. This is the fight the whole world wants to see. This is one of the biggest fights of all time.
“With all the great heavyweight fights, I am going to take this to a whole new stratosphere. You are going to see something special — you are going to see the beginning of a legend,” added the fighter, who boasts a record of 22-1 with 21 knockouts.
“I wanted him to see it face to face,” said Haye. “It is time to go to war. I will dispose of the whole Klitschko family. First I will take care of Wladimir and then I will take care of (WBC champion) Vitali.”
Klitschko (52-3, 46 KOs) was disgusted at Haye’s behaviour.
“I think it is terrible and he will get punished for it,” he said. “I do not agree with the things he has been doing, like coming here with this T-shirt. That simply is not right. It is very cheeky.
“He is a young man who cannot control his emotions. I will teach him a lesson and show him how to deal with it. I can best do it in the ring.
“I thought I would knock him out in the first round but then I thought better of it. I will make it a long and painful process. I will not knock him out before the 12th round. I will enjoy the process, it will be fun.”
Klitschko, who last defended his titles with a seventh-round stoppage of Hasim Rahman in December, also had a special message for his opponent.
“David, you are just a trash talker, stay up until the 12th round until I will knock you out,” he said.
Undeterred, Haye responded: “This will be Wladimir Klitschko’s last fight. He will retire after I have beaten him to bits. Now it is time to go to war. I have seen Wladimir fight dozens of time and I am not impressed at all.
“He comes out and all he does is jab. It’s jab, jab, jab, grab. The guys he has been fighting have been over the hill. They have been so old.
“They have just fallen down. He has never been tested. I will knock him out and then take out his brother.”
“I will let it rain down on him with my big lefts and rights. I will attack him. There will be lots of unhappy German fans here on June 20th.”