Eddie Hearn Rubbishes David Haye Injury Rumours Ahead of Tony Bellew Rematch
Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has dismissed reports David Haye has suffered an injury that would put his rematch with Tony Bellew in doubt, and he believes the fighter's camp may have leaked the rumours to mess with his opponent.
Rumours the fight could be canceled spread on social media like wildfire on Sunday, and TalkSport's Michael Benson shared where the reports came from:
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Hearn moved quickly to silence those reports, however. Speaking to IFL TV (via BoxingScene.com), he suggested it was nothing but mind games from Haye:
"I said to Tony Bellew—it's probably they've leaked that, because that's the sort of thing they do. When that broke I had spoken to a member of his team about the undercard about an hour before.
"I know he was training yesterday morning with a corporate day for Park Plaza, training fine. So I was a bit taken aback by it. So I spoke to the team and they said absolutely no problem.
"Then Sky then spoke to David Haye and said—oh we've seen this and he said—absolutely not true. I'm 100 percent ready to go December 17th. It's on."
According to the report, a similar scenario played out ahead of their first fight, although Haye later confirmed he did suffer a minor setback.
The two met on March 4 in a highly anticipated bout, with Bellew making his heavyweight debut. Haye ruptured his Achilles early in the contest but somehow survived until the 11th round, despite being virtually unable to move.
It was a heroic performance from the 37-year-old, who many believed would win the fight relatively easily, before moving on to face a top fighter, such as Anthony Joshua. Instead, it set up a rematch, which will take place on December 17.
Bellew has come a long way since his days of fighting as a light heavyweight, where he was something of an also-ran who could never win a top title fight. He settled in nicely at cruiserweight and took the WBC strap, and he didn't seem too out of place as a heavyweight against Haye, either.
The 34-year-old's future lies in the lower weight divisions, but there's too much interest―and money to be made―in another grudge match against Haye. The latter's health has been an issue for some time, keeping him out of the ring for long stretches, and everyone involved in this bout will be hopeful he doesn't suffer yet another setback.
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