It may have come as no surprise when David Haye and Tony Bellew got nasty towards one a other at today’s press conference in London – Haye even chucking a left hook at Bellew as they went face-to-face – but Haye’s scathing attack (of the verbal kind) on promoter Eddie Hearn was a surprise.
Haye, who insists he will “destroy” Bellew, ending the fight whenever he chooses to on March 4, had almost as much to say to the Matchroon boss. Haye does not like the way Hearn “always has to get his face in” whenever his fighters are being interviewed. Haye accused Hearn of not allowing his fighters to speak for themselves. “He should be like his father, Barry Hearn, who was a great boxing promoter who let his fighters, like Chris Eubank do the talking,” Haye said.
Haye said today that he is sick and tired of “The Eddie Hearn Show,” and that one of the reasons he took the fight with Bellew – who is of course promoted by Hearn – was so he would have the chance to “shut his [Hearn’s] big mouth.” Haye, seemingly more animated, even angry, than we are used to seeing him (“rattled,” according to Bellew) went further; stating how he will go after a fight with Anthony Joshua (also a Hearn fighter of course) once he’s done with Bellew, and in defeating the IBF heavyweight champ, “shut down” Matchroom.
“After I take out this guy [Bellew] I’m going to take out Joshua and shut down your business,” Haye said today.
So why is Haye so angry towards Hearn? Bellew said that it is down to jealously and nothing more, yet Haye insists that Hearn hogs the limelight and tries to control too many things.
“The only demand Eddie Hearn had was that his name came first on the fight posters [for Haye-Bellew],” Haye said.
But on a more serious note Haye lambasted Hearn for not caring enough about the well-being and the safety of his fighters. No way, Haye argues, should Hearn have let Bellew in the ring with him. Haye issued a stern warning: that he will hospitalise Bellew on March 4.
Hearn, in responding to Haye’s claims, told Sky Sports that it is Haye who is the control freak and that he was “out of control” at today’s presser.
“He’s a control freak, so he likes to deal with everything himself and the contract – some of the demands in there – were outrageous,” Hearn said. “It really hurts David that he can’t have full control. He wants to unsettle Tony Bellew. I thought David Haye was unsettled. I’ve never seen him like that, his legs were going and of course when you saw him in the head-to-head after, he had completely lost his marbles by then. He’s out of control. He doesn’t have the control he wants to have.”
Add it all up, and today’s presser was one lively affair!