David Haye targets heavyweight title showdown with Anthony Joshua once he wins grudge match with Tony Bellew after Munich holiday
Olympic champions and fans favourite AJ has a mega-fight of his own in April when he faces Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley
DAVID HAYE is so confident of victory against bitter rival Tony Bellew, he is already talking about toppling Anthony Joshua.
The Hayemaker turned his fire on IBF champion AJ after weeks of poisonous trash talk with Bellew ahead of Saturday’s grudge match at London’s O2 Arena.
And with the heavyweight division looking for its next big champion, Haye insists it is his time.
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The 36-year-old declared: “I like my chances in this heavyweight landscape. I don’t believe Anthony Joshua has the skill set to beat me.
“I don’t think he has the speed. He is big and strong and young and fresh. And he is on a roll.
“He’s definitely got a lot of stuff in his favour. But I’ve had 14 years of professional, competitive fights against good-level opponents and that would trump him and all of his advantages.
“I can navigate round all of his advantages. I don’t believe he can navigate round mine. I believe there is nobody out there to beat me.”
Haye even said he hopes Scouse powerhouse Bellew is BETTER than he has shown previously, just to give him a good workout before a potential Wembley superfight with Joshua, who faces Wladimir Klitschko next month.
The Londoner added: “I’m really hoping Bellew has had a fantastic training camp. I’m hoping him and ‘Penfold’ have worked on a good strategy to try to give me something to worry about.
“I’m really hoping it’s something a lot more impressive than what he did against Ilunga Makabu or BJ Flores in his last two fights.
“If he throws the same punches and doesn’t move his head more than he did, then he’s going to get smashed pretty bad.”
Haye was mocking Bellew’s trainer Dave Coldwell by labelling him Penfold, after the character from kids’ cartoon Danger Mouse.
It followed on from the former WBA champion erupting at a press conference in Liverpool on Monday, when he branded fans who taunted him as “f****** r****ds”.
He has also referred to 34-year-old Bellew as ‘Bell-end’ since their fight was announced in November.
Haye insisted age will not catch up with him on Saturday, six years after his defeat by Klitschko in Hamburg, where he blamed a broken toe for the loss.
He added: “I know what I’ve got left. I believe I’m better than I’ve ever been.
“Bellew has got my fire burning. I see this as so one-sided it’s unbelievable.
“People believe he’s got a shot. But it takes someone very special to jump up to heavyweight and have big results.
“I don’t believe Bellew’s skill set is adequate to do that. He takes too much punishment and is not that tough.
“He’s got heart, as they say in boxing, which means he has got a bad defence.”