HIT & MISSUS
I don’t fear big mouth Haye .. but there’s no way I would ever dare mess with my other half Rachael
TONY BELLEW fears no man, certainly not David Haye.
But there is one woman he would never dare take on.
Step forward Rachael Roberts, Bellew’s fiancee and mother of his three children, Corey, Cobey and Carter.
Rachael is as belligerent as Bellew and had to be restrained by security guards at his last fight against BJ Flores when she tried to get to the ring to hurl abuse.
Bellew, 34, would much rather face Haye tonight in their heavyweight grudge match at The O2 than anger her.
He said: “Cross her? Are you joking? I wouldn’t dare.
“I wouldn’t mess with her. She’s not to be played with. Against Flores, she was ready to fight him. She doesn’t play.
“I fear no man. I don’t give a f**k about any man on this planet. I’d fight any man but I don’t go home to her a penny short. I’ve been around this girl since I was nine. Everything I feel, she feels.”
As tough as Rachael is, she was upset by Haye’s threats made on Soccer AM to “hospitalise” Bellew and “cave his skull in”.
Bellew suspected Haye would take things into the gutter and packed her and their kids off to Dubai for the week to keep them away from the unpleasantness, which has so tarnished boxing.
The WBC cruiserweight king said: “Yeah, it upset her before she went on Saturday. I said ‘girl, don’t worry about it. I’ve been getting these threats since I was nine, 10 years old’.
“My youngest boy watches Soccer AM, which is supposed to be a child-friendly programme. I didn’t allow him to last Saturday because this fella says things which are a disgrace, like ‘I’m going to cave your head in’. He takes things a step too far.”
Haye, 36, is happy to play the villain, despite rivalling Donald Trump in unpopularity this week, to sell the fight.
Not only will he cash in to the tune of £4million with expected pay-per-view sales of 600,000, winning would boost chances of tempting Anthony Joshua into a fight, which has been his goal since returning 14 months ago.
He is determined to grab this chance to propel himself back on to centre stage and claims Bellew has made a fatal mistake by underestimating his power.
Haye said: “I do a different sport to everyone else. Bellew doesn’t realise my power. He thinks he does but he’s banking on me only having one arm.
“What happens when my right hand goes straight through his guard and knocks him clean on his a***? What’s he going to do?”
Bellew predicts Haye will blow himself out after four or five rounds, allowing him to close in for the kill. But the smart money is on Haye being too quick and heavy-handed for the Scouser and winning by a stoppage.
Neither fighter needs any motivating because of the bitterness between them.
Bellew said: “I’d rather fight someone I detest than someone I think is a nice fella. He’s a total gobs***e.”
● Haye v Bellew is live and exclusive on Sky Sports Box Office. Order at skysports.com/ hayebellew.