WBA world heavyweight champion David Haye has responded to a YouTube video posted by title challenger Audley Harrison, and claimed his fellow Londoner needs to “bring an axe” when the pair swap blows on November 13 in Manchester, live on Sky Sports HD.
Harrison recorded and published a video on Monday, featuring footage of him preparing for an uphill run at his Big Bear training camp in California, armed with an axe for protection..
“It’s six o’clock in the morning and we’re here on the track to do a 45-minute uphill run,” explained Harrison in the video. “We are 7,500-feet above sea level, and you don’t get this in London where David Haye is training – coming out of his posh palace and going down to his gym.
“This is the mountains. I’ve got an axe – it ain’t for David Haye, it’s for the bears. We’re in the wilderness and we ain’t playing. David Haye better be ready for a serious, serious fight. We are as serious as a heart attack.”
Before setting out on his run, Harrison revealed an axe in his pocket – an image which immediately gave champion Haye an idea.
“We’re going to contact the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) and request that Audley be allowed to use the axe in the ring on November 13,” said Haye.
“I’m deadly serious about this. At least if Audley has an axe in his left hand, I might have something to look out for. Even with an axe in his hand, Audley doesn’t stand a chance. What good is an axe if you’re too scared to throw it?
“It’s a shame he couldn’t have used the axe to cut through the rubbish that has been coming out of his mouth recently.”
While Harrison has decided to set up camp in California, Haye continues to train in London and insists that early morning runs in the snow will not be the determining factor on November 13, when the pair meet at Manchester’s M.E.N. Arena.
“I wake up at mid-day and I do my running when it feels right,” added Haye. “I’m conked out like a baby on Night Nurse at six o’clock in the morning and I admire Audley for his willingness to interrupt his sleep pattern to go for a jog. Rest assured, he’ll be able to catch up on plenty of sleep when I finish with him on November 13.
“It doesn’t matter whether he goes running at six o’clock in the morning or six o’clock at night, Audley’s still getting knocked out at just gone 10 pm on November 13. Nothing can change that fact – not even an axe.”