Haye is told he must apologise
DAVID HAYE has been accused of bringing his sport into disrepute by boxing’s governing body as disability charity Mencap joined the mounting pressure on him to publicly apologise for recent outbursts.
On the eve of his fight with Tony Bellew, the British Boxing Board of Control [BBBC] took their criticism of “unacceptable” Haye one step further, saying he has taken the emphasis away from boxing following his comments that his opponent could “die” in the ring. And yesterday Haye’s own fans began to turn on him, with a campaigner for Mencap telling him his decision to call Bellew’s fans “******* retards” is “harmful”.
“I’m really angry that David Haye isn’t going to apologise for calling people the r-word,” said Leroy Binns, a Mencap campaigns assistant who has learning disability.
“For someone who is supposed to be a role model it is totally unacceptable,”
“Lots of his fans, like me, might be disabled and what does it look like to them to hear him saying that? All hateful language is wrong and is harmful. There is no excuse to use that language and he should know better. David Haye needs to
publicly apologise.” Haye, who remained unrepentant at yesterday’s weigh-in, has already been warned by the BBBC that they intend to take action over his comments when they meet on Wednesday.
And speaking to Express Sport yesterday they intensified their criticism, revealing bemusement at Haye’s repeated verbal tirades that the boxer might argue has simply raised interest in the fight.
“True, but we are not talking about the fight, we are talking about what a man says,” said BBBC general secretary Robert Smith. “I have been inundated with calls and emails from the public criticising the sport I love, which is very disappointing. I just don’t know what’s driving it; the show is a sell-out and I don’t understand why this is going on.
“David Haye’s choice of words this week has been unacceptable in many aspects, not just that [use of the word retards]. I have been contacted by many organisations about words he has said and we will deal with it.
“What we won’t do is make a knee-jerk reaction. We want to get everything sorted, get everything in place and then deal with it like a proper regulatory body. But I’m also disappointed in it personally, as an ex-boxer, because this is just not required – but you must put it into perspective.
“We have 13 shows on Saturday night and, although this is the highest profile contest, everybody else is acting exceptionally well.
“But I understand where the media is coming from. Mr Haye has said some things that are not acceptable – or deemed to be acceptable – and the board will deal with that. Look at Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko; they sold about 90,000 tickets in a few hours and they haven’t said anything nasty, have they?”
Nonetheless, when the trash talking is done and the fight over, Haye and Bellew are likely to be sharing a £7m fortune.
Haye is expected to have a bigger share than Bellew, but it will be the Liverpool fighter’s biggest purse.
The WBC cruiserweight champion said: “For me it was never about the money. When I beat this clown I’m the most valuable heavyweight in the world outside the champions.
“I’ll also be the best cruiserweight this country has ever produced. That is all it is about, that legacy.”