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David Haye: Anthony Joshua would beat me in the 100m race but I will demolish him in the ring

Former heavyweight king believes he carries a certain skill set good enough to topple the IBF world champion

Anthony Joshua and David Haye

DAVID HAYE remains convinced he is destined to topple Anthony Joshua.

Haye, 35, has made no secret of his desire to secure a lucrative showdown with his fellow Brit at Wembley Stadium.

 David Haye reckons he would beat Anthony Joshua in a fight, but not a race
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David Haye reckons he would beat Anthony Joshua in a fight, but not a raceCredit: David Haye/Facebook

And the fact undefeated Joshua currently holds the IBF world heavyweight title has strengthened his resolve to secure the fight he craves.

The Hayemaker said: "I have a certain skill set that I believe would trump Joshua.

“He has got the size and strength. He's a tremendous athlete. He could probably beat me in the 100 metres but this is boxing.

"It's about skill, movement and experience.

“I've been boxing since the age of ten and I've got the experience to outmanoeuvre someone who's bigger than me. I've done it in the past."

 David Haye is adamant he could inflict a first defeat on Anthony Joshua
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David Haye is adamant he could inflict a first defeat on Anthony JoshuaCredit: PA:Press Association

Joshua, 26, would hold both a height and weight advantage against Haye, who has scored rapid knockouts against Mark de Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj since returning from a three-and-a-half-year injury lay-off.

The quality of Haye’s opposition has been questioned and it remains to be seen whether the former WBA world heavyweight champ can still compete at the highest level.

He is currently ranked third in the IBF rankings and a Battle of Britain with Joshua would certainly whet the appetite of fight fans.

But the former cruiserweight king knows AJ, who appears set to fight in America sooner rather than later, will improve as time goes on.

 Anthony Joshua flattens Dominic Breazeale in his successful IBF heavyweight title defence
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Anthony Joshua flattens Dominic Breazeale in his successful IBF heavyweight title defenceCredit: EPA

Haye added: "The longer Anthony has, the better he's going to be and the more lessons he'll learn.

“The more training camps he goes through, the more sparring he gets, the more seasoned he gets.

"Joshua is one of the top fighters in the world. He has the world title for a reason and had the Olympic gold medal as an amateur.

“As a professional he's got a 100 per cent knockout ratio and he's done everything he needs to do."

Joshua KO’d Charles Martin in two rounds in April to win the vacant IBF title.

He made a successful first defence with a seventh-round stoppage of Dominic Breazeale last month and is likely to return to the ring in November.

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