Losing a fight to the underdog always takes its toll on any fighter. It’s not easy when you’ve talked a lot of game but fall short in the ring under the big lights. David Haye learned this the hard way when he got knocked out of the ring by Tony Bellew in March 2017.
“It was very tough to take. A loss to Tony Bellew makes it a bit extra spicy. Really did not sit well with me. I’m just fortunate that I got an opportunity to right that loss. It was tough. I didn’t anticipate it in any scenario that could take place in a boxing ring. I thought in twelve rounds I would find a way to knock him out and if not I would win won on points but that didn’t happen,” Haye told Boxing Social.
Haye made his infamous coma comments and talked about how he would put Bellew in a hospital. But eventually, it was ‘The Hayemaker’ who ended up getting medical attention after his Achilles injury which he sustained in the first fight.
He knows this time around he absolutely has to deliver otherwise it will all be over for ‘The Hayemaker.’
“I talked big and failed miserably last time. I can’t have that again. I’m focusing all my attention on the performance. I’m focusing my attention on becoming the very best David Haye I can be. Just trying to make sure that come fight night I’m tip top. Everything that I’ve boasted I can do in the past, I can actually bring to fruition,” he said.
Bellew has admitted that he’s worried Haye might pull out again. Boxing fans ponder if a 37-year-old Haye can beat the Liverpudlian, especially after the bicep injury.
How does Haye get himself back into a 100 per cent and defeat Bellew?
“I can do it by getting back to my best. By working and focusing on my attributes, what I do well, what I don’t do well. Being realistic about my physicalities. Knowing the injuries that I’ve had, how I work around those injuries. In the past I just assumed get into the ring and land some shots in the fight but as you get older you don’t recover like you use to,” explained Haye.
In his younger days it was mostly about pushing it to the max for Haye but in the year 2018, the veteran participant of the sport knows what to do and more importantly what not to do.
“I need to take all of that into consideration when I’m in training camp to make sure that I’m not pushing it too far. It’s not about just pushing it to a 100 per cent. It doesn’t work. You push things to a 100 per cent, things start popping and snapping. You need to work smart, work clever. As I’ve gotten older, particularly in the last year, I’ve worked out how to get my body to optimal fighting capacity without injuring myself,” told ‘The Haymaker.’
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