David Haye: Tyson Fury making a fatal mistake

[Mofo2]

DAVID Haye has warned Tyson Fury that he is making a fatal mistake by viewing him as just a pumped-up cruiserweight. The pair will meet at Manchester's MEN Arena on September 28 and it is a fight that has captured the public's imagination. But Fury has been comparing Bermondsey's Haye with American Steve Cunningham, who he KO'd in seven rounds in April. Both Haye and Cunningham are former world cruiserweight champions that stepped up to compete in the sport's glamour division. Yet The Hayemaker - speaking to the South London Press - believes that is about the only thing that the two boxers share. "He seems to think just because two people are of a similar stature that they are the same type of fighter but he's way wrong there," said the former WBA heavyweight king. "I've been a heavyweight for many years now - Cunningham had just dipped his toe into the heavyweight division. He'd had only one heavyweight fight prior to that - and lost it - so his résumé coming into the heavyweight division wasn't great. "He [Fury] needs confidence. He needs to make those comparisons. It's false confidence, but it is confidence all the same. "He can't go out there and be realistic - Cunningham is one of the weakest punching heavyweights ever. I'd say he is the weakest punching cruiserweight champion of all time with a 39 per cent knockout rate. That's a very, very low rate for a big guy. And I've got the highest knockout rate. I'd think to try and put us both in the same category is foolish but he's a bit of a fool - so he'll probably make those comparisons." Cunningham dropped Fury in the second round but he climbed off the canvas to take control. Haye said: "If I hit Tyson he's not only going down - he's going down for the count. He's not going to be able to get up when these Hayemakers rain down on him, no way." Fury also accused the former Fitzroy Lodge amateur of being more interested in his celebrity lifestyle than focusing on his boxing career. But it was the younger man who clowned around at last week's press conference to try and grab the spotlight. Haye added: "Maybe he doesn't get his invites to these functions that I get invited to, so he's a little bitter. He loves the limelight and the attention - listen to the way he's screaming and shouting. That doesn't sound like someone who doesn't want their face out there. "He's making all the noises to suggest he does need and want celebrity. But I got mine from winning world titles. Before anyone knew my name I was already world champion. I've paid my dues. Yeah I went on I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here. I didn't need to do that. I did it to expand my ever-growing fanbase." Fury refused to pose for the staredown that tends to be a fixture of any publicity event in the build up to fights when a press conference was held in London to announce the fight. "He's nervous," said Haye. "He didn't want me to see the fear in his eyes. He didn't want me to see him trembling, which I could see anyway. It's quite sweet really, it's his first time at this level. I can see why he'd be nervous and scared. But I've been here before, nothing new for me. "It's a big advantage that I've had so many high-profile bouts. Look at his body language in the Cunningham fight - he was twitching and all over the place. He was out of his comfort zone and didn't know how to respond and react. And that's going to happen on fight night. He's going to be taking big punches." With both boxers so highly ranked by all of the major governing bodies there seems a major chance the winner will get a crack at one of the Klitschko brothers, who hold all four of the major belts. "It doesn't put me further away from it," said Haye. "It keeps me active and it keeps me relevant. That's what you have to do to get title shots."