David Haye eyes British blockbuster against Anthony Joshua next year but admits he could retire even if he beats Tony Bellew
DAVID HAYE is eyeing a domestic showdown with Anthony Joshua next year - but knows it won't happen unless he beats Tony Bellew.
And the Haymaker even admitted that part II against Bellew could be his last should he lose or win in a scrappy manner.
Speaking to , Haye said: “If I can’t beat Tony Bellew my competitive boxing career is effectively over.
“There’s no even need me mentioning any other names in the heavyweight division about wanting to fight for titles - if I can’t beat Bellew then it’s over.
“The first fight, I wasn’t good enough, that night I turned up to fight Tony Bellew I wouldn’t have beaten any of the top ten heavyweights in the world."
Haye said if he can get past Bellew and then face heavyweight champ Joshua it would be the “ultimate perfect scenario" and he is keen for them to stand toe-to-toe in a football stadium.
He added: "If we both keep winning then a big football stadium, me and Joshua, it doesn’t get any bigger than that.
“But I can't even remotely start thinking about that, if I can’t perform against Tony Bellew.
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"Even if I beat Tony Bellew but I scrape through - I get knocked down, my shoulder pops, whatever issue I have I can’t then realistically say I want to fight this big guy who’s three inches taller, three stone bigger ten years younger undefeated, 100 per cent knockout.
"The people will go ‘come on Dave get real.’"
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Haye, 37, said even if he wins against Bellew he may retire after the fight.
“For me after the fight even if I win I may retire. I may say okay although I’ve just about scraped through this fight I can’t compete with these big guys that was ten years ago."
And WBA, IBF and IBO heavyweight world champ Joshua is keen for a “barnstormer” against Haye.
He said: “If it comes about it’ll be a good fight.
“Same with me, I’ve got to kind of perform against x, x, and x before I get to Haye and he has to perform against Bellew and maybe it’ll be the trilogy against Bellew before he fights me.
“We’ve got to get through looking good keeping our stock high and then we can create a massive barnstormer."
