By Edward Chaykovsky
Matchroom Sport's Eddie Hearn, who promotes WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew, says David Haye should do the right thing and accept the fight with his boxer.
Last night at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, Bellew (28-2-1, 18KOs) was making the first defense of the title he captured back in May in Goodison Park with a brutal third round knockout of Ilunga Makabu.
He kept his title with ease by battering Haye's close friend BJ Flores - by landing damaging punches that saw three knockdowns in the second round and then a fourth to close the show in the third.
Haye (28-2, 26KOs) was sitting at ringside and watching the fight as part of the Sky Sports broadcast team. Bellew made attempts to physically confront him and he was restrained by his camp members and security.
Haye, a former unified cruiserweight champion, has been fighting in the heavyweight division since 2008. He captured the WBA heavyweight title in 2009 with a win over 7-foot giant Nikolai Valuev.
"This is a very good fight against a very good heavyweight who dominated the cruiserweight division against the current number one in the cruiserweight division. The belt is important but sometimes you get the opportunity to change your life," Hearn told the Liverpool Echo.
"David Haye is trying to pick up something in the heavyweight division. Tyson Fury has vacated belts, it's a bit of a mess. "There's going to be opportunities come around but if he thinks the likes of Lucas Browne or Shannon Briggs are really that big then he's deluded, he should know better because he's a smart guy.
"He has operated around the business for a long time and I believe he's smart enough to know that this is the fight he has got to make. David has achieved a lot and there are a lot of British world champions but when you look back over the career of Tony Bellew you have to rate him as one of the top Brits.
"He might have a big mouth but go back over his resume and he's been in some top, tough fights. He should be up there in the top five British fighters right now. He's always been the guy with the big mouth but the Makabu win was the one that said 'no, I'm a damn good fighter' and actually look at his record compared with some other world champions who haven't really beaten anyone, you can't say that about Bellew."
"We're not chasing this payday with David Haye, Bellew is a genuine world champion. Tony has probably got somewhere between four and six fights left in his career and the key is to make him as much money as possible over that period."
