Klitschko-Haye heats up!

By Alexey Potapov

WBO/IBF/IBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko and former WBC/WBA/WBO cruiserweight champion David Haye continued their bitter feud at a press conference in London. As he did last week in Germany, Haye wore a T-shirt with an image where he holds the severed heads of both Klitschko Brothers. “He sucks, he’s crap. I don’t like his style. I don’t like what he represents,” Haye said. Haye’s continued insults have angered the normally reserved Wladimir to such an extent that he lashed out at his challenger, calling his actions shameful and unsportsmanlike, and promising to punish Haye in the ring before he knocks him out on June 20th in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. “He needs to be taught how to behave,” stated Wlad. “He’s a loser and I want to shut his mouth!”

Wladimir Klitschko: When he tried to get this fight, the picture with my decapitated body was certainly below the belt but I swallowed it. But now he has the fight and I can’t understand why he continues these tricks. What example does it give children? This is shameful behaviour and I can’t understand it.

I chose David Haye not David Haye chose me. I have had three title defenses and I took this boy. Right now I see David Haye with a cut head of my brother (on a T-shirt). So I am asking what is going to be next? Are you going to cut my dad’s head or my mother’s head? Other family members? Maybe you will attack my religion, my race? This is over the edge. This is not about sport.

You listen to what I say, this guy is going to be punished. I will transform this person into a pizza face for 12 rounds, and in the 12th round I am going to knock him out. He will pay for it with pain in the ring, and after the fight at the press conference I’ll remind him of his words, and he will take back all the words and will apologize. I’m not going to use my energy on trash talk, it’s embarrassing. It casts a shadow on the sport.

David Haye: “I’ve received the reaction I wanted from him…All the shouting and screaming is necessary because people have to hear about the fight. I don’t care about good taste and I know some people may hate me. I’ll do what I have to do, including these silly little stunts. As long as people remember me as the best fighter in the world with bad taste I don’t care. In twenty years nobody will remember my T-shirt, everyone will remember that day when I knocked out Wladimir Klitschko.

“He doesn’t go in the ring to fight. He doesn’t give value for money. He’s embarrassing, everything he does in the ring is embarrassing. I want him to fight like a man, not run like a bitch. Stand and fight me Vladimir Bitchko! I’m going to smash his head in and he will be bleeding on the floor.

“He’s a big dude, has a decent jab and has a lot of physical tools but I will turn them against him. His jab, jab, grab tactics that he has been doing throughout his career, it’s not impressive, it won’t work against me. I will make him fight and he is a fighter who doesn’t like to fight.

“It’s going to be a changing of the guard on June 20…I’m faster and hungrier than any of the bums he has fought before. It will be a rude awakening for him. He will have to do the fight of his life or he’ll be leaving the ring on a stretcher.”

The press tour wraps up in New York City on Thursday.