Haye vs Bellew: Tony Bellew sheds more light on his past sparring session with David Haye
Monday 27 February 2017 15:17, UK
Tony Bellew has revealed more details about his past sparring session with David Haye and recalls how he floored his bitter rival.
The Merseysider will share the ring with Haye on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports Box Office, and shed more light on what happened when they last stepped between the ropes.
Haye insisted he could not remember much about sparring Bellew on 'The Gloves Are Off', but 'The Bomber' has claimed the Londoner pulled out of a scheduled 2005 fight with Mark Hobson after a session with himself and heavyweight David Price.
"He got a hiding off the two of us that day," Bellew exclusively told Sky Sports. "He turned up in Liverpool, flying high, was expecting to beat me and David Price up. He hit me with one of the hardest punches I have been hit with in the first round.
"I stood on my feet and said good shot. He looked at me in pure amazement and shock. I don't know how I stayed on my feet, but remember nodding and saying good shot.
He took a knee, I went to hit him when he was on one knee and I missed him and punched the floor.
"I was a cruiserweight at the time, he was a cruiserweight, and the spar went on. Three rounds later David Price got in and hit him with a right hand that spun him 360 degrees.
"David Price would only have had to hit with a jab to knock him over, but David being David, stood back and said are you okay mate?
"I got in the next round, gave him a good few whacks on the side of the head. He took a knee. I went to hit him when he was on one knee and I missed him and punched the floor. That's the difference between me and David Price, I'm a savage. David is a lovely man and a nice guy."
Bellew played down the significance of the sparring, with the two men due to exchange punches without head guards this weekend, although he is standing by his version of events.
"I'm not saying I flattened him, put him on his back. I didn't, that would be a lie, but he took a knee," said Bellew.
"I hit him with a right hand and he went down, took a knee, the spar finished after that. He then pulled out of his fight with Mark Hobson the next day. That's not lies, that's just stone cold facts.
"I said 'can you remember pulling out against Mark Hobson the next day?' He says to me 'vaguely', but you can't remember the hiding you got the day before."
