Tony Bellew remembers the first time he sparred David Haye: 'He hit me so hard my leg kicked out like a donkey'

As Tony Bellew prepares to face David Haye in their London rematch, he recalls the first time they met in 2005 in a sparring session which he says left the Hayemaker reeling

Tony Bellew and David Haye will fight again at the 02 Arena in May (Getty)

It was July 2005 when a 'little fat s**t' from Liverpool, Tony Bellew, was offered £100 to spar Britain's superstar in the making David Haye. He was even told he would receive a £1,000 bonus if he could floor the visitor from London.

Bellew, a skint amateur at the time, jumped at the chance, along with his close friend David Price. Both were more than happy to make a few quid while helping Haye prepare for his scheduled grudge match with British and Commonwealth champion David Hobson.

That fight was meant to take place on 22 July but a hamstring injury forced Haye, the cruiserweight division's enfant terrible who had stopped 13 men in his first two years as a professional, to pull out of the clash.

And Bellew, who is these days preparing for his high-profile rematch with ‘The Hayemaker' on 5 May, says he and Price were to blame for the withdrawal.

“He didn't even know who I was at the time, I had just won my first ABA title,” Bellew recalls from a hotel room overlooking Westminster Bridge. “He came up to Liverpool and he got punched all over the place.

“Me and David Price turned him over that day, we punched him everywhere and the next day he pulled out of the fight against Hobson with an injury. That's a fact.

“I remember Mark Hobson saying to a paper: 'I heard he went up to Liverpool and got bashed by two scousers.' That was very true.

“We were told if we could drop him, we would get a £1,000 bonus payment. At the time, I was skint. They paid us £100 to spar. I couldn't believe that anyway, then the bonus on top. I didn't get that bonus though.”

Tony Bellew won their first professional encounter (AFP/Getty Images)

Earlier this year, Anthony Joshua revealed that he was knocked out at the hands of Liverpool's giant super-heavyweight Price. Bellew says Haye nearly went the same way.

“Haye was doing four minute rounds,” he adds. “Two minutes with Pricey and then two minutes with me. As I'm waiting to get in, Price hit him on the chin and I kid you not, he spun around 360 degrees, his whole body.

He went 'woah woah', stumbling around. “Pricey is the nicest person ever, so when Haye is spinning round, Pricey stood there and watched him. I went 'f*****g kill him! Jump on him!' But he didn't even though we were getting a bonus.

“Ever since that sparring session I knew I would face him one day. People used to say I was crazy and laugh at me but here we are.”

Bellew is in London for a press conference to reignite the buildup for his rematch with Haye, who says he will retire if he loses, and might even retire if he wins.

The 37-year-old was stopped by Bellew in the 11th round of their absorbing first contest in March, when a ruptured Achilles' left him barely able to stand up before his then-trainer Shane McGuigan threw in the towel.

Haye had predicted an early knockout but Bellew boxed intelligently in the early rounds before taking advantage of the injury to win.

Despite victory, Bellew remains the betting underdog in the rematch and concedes that nobody has ever hit him harder than Haye did 15 years back.

He says: “Don't get me wrong, in the first round of that sparring, his first punch - I've never been hit as hard in my life, and I've been stopped before.

“He hit me with a right uppercut. I was just standing here, looking at him and for no reason. He hit with this f*****g uppercut so hard my leg just kicked out behind me for no reason. Like a donkey.

Tony Bellew, left, as a young amateur fighter (Getty)

“To this day, I don't know why it did it and my leg has never done it since. He might not remember it because he's done it to that many people but I swear to this day it's the hardest I've ever been hit.

“I said to him 'good shot' and the look on his face that I was still standing was a picture. He was gutted.”

After pocketing just £100 back then, Bellew is in line to earn 30,000 times more than he did during his first encounter with Haye. Depending on pay-per-view figures, Bellew should bank a career-high purse of around £3m.

Haye, meanwhile, hopes avenging his loss to Bellew will help him take a step towards a money-spinning encounter with Joshua at some point down the line.

“From a general boxing perspective, throughout his whole career he has cherry picked who and when he fights,” Bellew adds. “There's nothing wrong with that.

“He's been able to do that because he has always been a valuable commodity – I haven't. I've always been labelled the fat scouser with the big mouth.

“For that reason, someone always wants to see me get f****d. And if someone wants to see you get f****d, that means you have to fight good guys.

“To fight good guys you have to go here, there and everywhere. I've done that. There is a big, big difference between me and him. He can't believe this little fat s**t from Liverpool has beaten him. It hurts him to look at me.

“He must have been worth £20m at the age of 31 so why is he still fighting? If I had that much I wouldn't be contemplating fighting.

“His faculties are intact, he's not a bad-looking fella, so why is he still doing it? He says I've robbed the bank! He's earned more than me but he's still going on.

“Now I've got everything I dreamed of and more, all I've got left to do is to prove people wrong.”