TalkingBoxing Interviews
Talking Boxing with DAVID HAYE
THU July 7, LUKE CHANCE - Big punching British cruiserweight prospect David Haye, 13-1 with 13 knockouts, is aiming to land the British and Commonwealth titles this month when he meats durable long time champion Mark Hobson, 24-3-1, in what promises to be a fight with needle.
Hobson recently issued a tirade of abuse against Haye, calling him lazy and saying he had no chin amongst other things. It only seems right that one of British boxings brightest stars should have the chance to reply, so I caught up with ‘The New Sensation’ to see just how preperations were going for the showdown wth Hobson, and his plans for the future.
Luke Chance: Right David, so next up is Mark Hobson, how is training going for that?
David Haye: It’s good, really good. I’ve been training for this for quite a while now. Actually I anticipated the fight being in June but for some reason it got pushed back a little further, so I’ve been ready to fight since the middle of June, but this has obviously given me a few more weeks to train.
Luke Chance: This is for the British and Commonwealth belts, are you looking to go down that more traditional route, British, Commonwealth and European?
David Haye: At the start of my career that’s the way I wanted to go, but as it sort of panned out you can’t get a British title shot just like that. When I started I wanted to, but then I realised it can take a lot longer than I had anticipated. As you will know from looking at my career I don’t want to spend too much time hanging around on the domestic scene. In an ideal world I would have finished with the domestic scene in only my sixth or seventh fight, but there wasn’t really anyone to fight, or anybody who was willing to fight me.
So obviously with this fight come up it’s a chance to land the British and Commonwealth both in one go, and then obviously leaving that there and looking after the European. The domestic scene doesn’t really do anything for me. I’m looking at world titles, and Mark Hobson has got quite a good ranking so it serves a purpose.
I’ve been mandated to fight for the European Championship, I don’t really have to fight Mark Hobson to get that but I’ve just decided that people want to see this fight, so I’ll just go through him, plus the guy chats a whole load of shit, so I’m going to bash him up in front of all his mates. That’s a nice little touch.
Luke Chance: He’s had a few harsh words for you, he’s been running his mouth a bit and he’s gone well beyond the realms of a friendly rivalry. What have you got to say to him?
David Haye: It’s going to end up being a first round job if he keeps chatting. He’s just going to get done and that’s it. I’m just going to bash him up. I was thinking about just knocking him spark out, but now I’m thinking about punishing him for a few rounds and embarrassing him, trying to make him quit, that would be nice.
I’d like to knock him spark out in the first round or bash him up for a few rounds make Chris Ashton throw in the towel, that’d be nice.
Luke Chance: Now do you think that his comments are aimed at winding you up, and make you go hell for leather like in your first, say, ten fights. Do you think he is trying to make you blast him out?
David Haye: He can say and do what he wants, all it will do is get him knocked out faster. If he wants me to come out really fast, I’ll come out really fast. I don’t know what he’s got planned, but he’s just going to end up getting knocked out really quick. He’s probably trying to overanalyse it, thinking ‘He’s going to come out and do exactly what he did against Carl Thompson, he’ll get tired after three rounds and then I’ll beat him. Yeah what a fucking idiot’.
He had one chance in my career to do that, and Carl Thompson took that opportunity and he did it really well. But things like that happen, and he could have cashed in if he had a bit more bottle, and taken the fight. But he only got brave after I got my arse kicked by someone else. So now he’s thought ‘if Carl Thompson can do it, I can do it’. That’s exactly what he’s about, he’s only piped up after I’ve been beat by carl Thompson. Before that he never had a word to say about me. Then I got beat by Carl Thompson, and suddenly he’s all brave, chump man.
Luke Chance: Why do you think that is?
David Haye: He gets his confidence from my bad performances. I get my confidence from his best performances. I’ve watched his best performances, allegedly good performances against Lee Swaby, and Norton, and Moran and all these other chumps he’s boxed and that’s where I get my confidence from.
He doesn’t get confidence from my wins, he gets it from me getting knocked down by Lolenga Mock, and a couple of amateur fights where I got bashed, and me getting beat up by Carl Thompson. That’s a real sad way to gain your confidence. You can’t really pick on peoples bad performances and hope that person is going to turn up. He’s in for a rude awakening.
Luke Chance: Well, you’re a different fighter now anyway aren’t you?
David Haye: Completely different. I’ve been in the ring with him, and he couldn’t actually land a punch. I went to spar with him, and I actually probably embarrassed him. I went down to his gym to spar with him and he couldn’t do a thing. He couldn’t land a shot and it was just embarrassing, I hit him with two right hands and both of them rocked him. I thought ‘Right, that’s enough’, so I just used my jab and sort of dropped my hands down by my sides, letting him tee off against the ropes. But he still couldn’t actually land a shot.
I think that’s when his confidence went, but then it sort of came back because he got a little chump of a cheerleader trainer screaming down his neck that I’m no good blah blah so he might start believing it. As long as he gets in the ring, I’m looking forward to it.
Luke Chance: I actually wanted to ask you about that sparring incident you’ve just mentioned because I’ve heard a few different things…
David Haye: I’ve got it on tape. I actually have it on video tape, and everyone I have shown it to has thought ‘Ok then’. It was embarrassing, he couldn’t do a thing, he couldn’t land a punch. He tried his hardest and he couldn’t do it. He’s technically inept. He’s just so bog standard, basic. He’s got no finesse, no moves, nothing. It’s like a one-two left hook uppercut that’s it. He’s just a big, tall, basic European style fighter. Those fighters are really easy to figure out, no matter how tough or strong he is, he’s still got that boring arse style. He’s got no speed, he’s got no slickness. He’s just a tough, durable European type boxer, and that’s it. If I wasn’t in the British scene would anybody actually be talking about him? Rob Norton who cares? Lee Swaby, who cares? Bruce Scott, who cares? If I wasn’t there nobody would even be mentioning any of these fighters. He’s just boring, he’s got no excitement about him, no charisma.
He’s been a professional for eight and a half years, and now he’s fighting me for the biggest fight of his career. That shows exactly what he’s about. If he was going to do anything with his career he would have done it a long time ago. I’ve been pro about two and a half years and I’m mandate for the European title. Why didn’t Hobson ever get a European title shot? Why didn’t that ever happen? Because nobody cares, because he’s no good. Now they are saying because I’ve got this fight lined up the winner of this fight will get that [a crack at the European]. But if I didn’t want to fight now for some reason, I could go and fight for the European title and he couldn’t.
Luke Chance: Do you fancy that European title shot, against Alexander Gurov?
David Haye: yeah I’d love that fight, big tall tough Russian, southpaw. He’ll come to fight. He’ll come to fight a lot more than Hobson will. He’ll actually try to come with a few more angles at least, try and look for a good body shot. So it would be actually interesting for me.
I really do hope Mark Hobson comes to really have a go, and really have something up his sleeve. I really hope he does. Because if he just comes with his normal game it’s just going to be a shutout and I’m not interested in that, I can’t be bothered.
I’ve got my after party all sorted out in London, so I’ve got to bash him up and then get back to it. I don’t really want a late nights work, but if he comes with something that would be fun. To actually have a competitive fight. If he’s done some training that he’s never done before and he comes with something real special then that would be actual entertainment. But if he comes with his normal game then we may have to rearrange the time a bit.
Luke Chance: He’s going to have home ground advantage, does that bother you at all?
David Haye: No. As long as his mates don’t get up in the ring and start hitting me over the head with things then I’m allright. They can scream as loud as they want for him, it ain’t going to help. They’ll be real quiet when I leave as well.
Luke Chance: Should you beat Hobson, where do you look next, another domestic fight like Rob Norton, or European and world?
David Haye: I don’t really want this fight to be honest. The only reason I’m fighting him is because people want to see the fight. If people didn’t want to see it then I couldn’t really be bothered because I just don’t think he’s good enough.
Rob Norton? Didn’t Mark Hobson beat Rob Norton? What would I want to fight him for? Where is he ranked in the world? Is he even ranked?
Luke Chance: Off the top of my head I’m not sure to be honest.
David Haye: Exactly. I’m after world titles A.S.A.P. I haven’t got time to waste on domestic fights. I’m at the level where I want top 10 in the world. Obviously, European Champion Alexander Gurov is ranked 2 by the WBA. I’d like to win the European, defend it against another highly rated European and then try and get a world title shot against Jean Marc Mormeck. That would be the way I would want to do it. Get the real fights that actually mean something.
I’m not sure how much longer I can actually make the 200lb limit. That it went up to 200lb was so good, because there’s no way in a million years could I now make 13st 8lb (190lbs). Physically I couldn’t do it without making myself really ill. I’m not struggling, but, it’s not as easy as it used to be. I walk around at about 210lbs, 215lbs, and I’m not fat at 215. I’m still ripped. I’m just getting naturally bigger. I might not be able to make the cruiserweight limit for that much longer, so it’s a case of doing all I can, while I make the limit then moving up to heavyweight.
Luke Chance: So, like Evander Holyfield, try and unify the titles at Cruiser then move up?
David Haye: If I were to unify the titles then I will have achieved my goals at Cruiserweight and I’ll be able to move on and do the same for heavyweight.
Thanks to Fight Academy promotions, Adam Booth, and David haye for taking time out from his busy schedule to talk to us.
Forum
