'People like to see others coming through adversity, through struggle. Without the struggle, a win isn’t anything'
Friday 10 March 2017 10:37, UK
The courage shown by David Haye in his defeat to Tony Bellew endeared him in a way that wouldn’t have been possible with another knockout win. Sky Sports caught up with a newly humbled Haye…
His ankle is heavily bandaged and David Haye cannot manoeuvre himself around the room without help, but he wears the smile of a freed man as he overlooks the Thames just four days after a potentially career-ending defeat.
The weight of the world has been removed from Haye's shoulders - he might have lost but by refusing to quit, as Bellew predicted that he would, he has gained newfound praise that perhaps he always yearned for.
"I proved something to people. I was not considered the bravest fighter - people know me for just knocking people out, then losing to Wladimir Klitschko," Haye exclusively told Sky Sports, resting his stricken leg on a plush sofa, 12 stories high in the London skyline.
"Maybe people needed to be reminded that I am actually a fighter. When things aren't going my way, I don't just give up. People don't know that."
Haye isn't crowing in the manner of a victorious champion, merely clinging onto faint praise - "I'd rather be the sore winner than the gallant loser," he freely admits.
When things aren't going my way, I don't just give up. People don't know that.
"I wouldn't go as far as calling this a victory tour. But people like to see others coming through adversity, through struggle. Without the struggle, a win isn't anything.
"Nobody wanted a quick knockout, they wanted to see a fighter dig deep. They saw a fighter do his best with the hand that he was dealt."
Such criticism of Haye's willingness to dig deep stems from his 2011 defeat to Wladimir Klitschko - he was out-sized, out-jabbed and unable to unify the world heavyweight title.
In a moment that has followed him ever since, Haye removed his boot afterwards to reveal a broken toe that he claimed hindered his performance. Such bravery against Bellew with a far worse injury might have finally expunged the memories of that night in Hamburg.
"Nothing is a mistake in life - you do what do at the time, then live with the consequences," he shrugs. "Different times in your life, it was a long time ago. I don't think about it anymore, I've had many fights since then.
"When you talk as big as I talk, you've got to take the rough with the smooth. I got what I deserved [against Klitschko] - I said I'd do things, and I didn't. I lost. I got the amount of stick that I deserved, and things move on."
Nothing is a mistake in life - you do what do at the time, then live with the consequences.
Indeed they do. Onto last weekend at The O2, when a ruptured Achilles in Haye's right ankle suddenly turned his rivalry with Bellew from rancorous to respectful.
"We're both warriors, we're both willing to leave everything in the ring," he said. "You have a different type of respect for someone.
"I didn't think he'd be able to go through what he went through, and I'm sure the feeling is mutual."
Like in his post-fight interview, Haye bluntly refuses to blame injury for his defeat. It is startling to hear his praise for Bellew's game-plan and its execution. There are no excuses about his fitness despite pre-fight murmurings, and no insistence that his trainer Shane McGuigan was at fault for throwing in the towel.
"No matter what happened in this fight, fitness-wise I was still throwing bombs until the end," he said. "I didn't feel tired. I was fitter than I've ever been, physically. It was just the type of freaky thing that happens in sport.
"When I went through the ropes I thought 'I've got to get up'. I thought I'd hit him with an uppercut because he would rush in, to finish me, then I'd knock him out - obviously, the towel came in. Maybe [McGuigan] wanted to save me for another day. I trust his opinion, I back him."
I thought I'd hit him with an uppercut because he would rush in, to finish me, then I'd knock him out.
Whether McGuigan's actions have saved Haye for a rematch remains to be seen - his fitness, and Bellew's desire to do it again, must first be ironed out. What is strange is the sight of Haye, so often the loudmouth whose words can get him in trouble, humbly confessing that he requires Bellew to relaunch his career again.
"I was the A-side going into the last fight - I'd done certain numbers, I generated more ticket sales - but he won the fight. So I'd have to listen to his side of the story." A volatile trip to Bellew's home city of Liverpool, Haye insists, would be a welcome part of eating humble pie.
The rivalry will die out altogether if this mutual respect carries on, it is suggested to Haye. "We won't be going on holiday to Miami anytime soon together," he retorts sharply. He is newly-humbled by defeat, but the instinct remains.
