Boxing Betting / Ralph Ellis / 28 June 2011 / 1

David Haye has been at it again, trash talking about decapitating opponents and staring down Wladimir Klitschko. But if the British fighter is so confident, why is his coach complaining about the choice of referee for Saturday's bout? Ralph Ellis reports.

It's a bit of luck for David Haye that he's fighting Wladimir Klitschko in Hamburg and not in Newquay. The seaside town has just decided to ban anybody from wearing offensive T-shirts on a Saturday night. If anybody is going to fall foul of that rule it's Britain's WBA heavyweight champion.

Ever since he first tried to goad the giant Ukrainian into putting his IBF, WBO and IBO belts at stake, Haye's taste in topwear has been more than questionable. There was the original severed head model, and he was at it again yesterday. He turned up for the press conference wearing another tasteless tee promoting his mobile phone App - the one that lets you decapitate random fighters in your own virtual world. It's little wonder that Klitschko's 66-year-old trainer Emanuel Steward, a man who's seen all the great champs, looks down with such disdain on the pre-fight antics.

But then Haye's good at talking tough. He's been mentored by his own trainer-manager Adam Booth who majors in sporting psychology. And he stood up well for the stare-down too, never blinking as Klitschko waved a hand in front of his face. Wladimir had written in pen the number 50 on it - the sort of thing you'd do before a boozy night out in Newquay to remind yourself of the hotel room number, I suppose. Except in this case it was to remind us that if he stops Haye it will be his 50th career KO.

So it was strange that while Haye was strutting his stuff, behind the scenes Booth was giving just a hint of weakness. He's complaining about the choice of Genaro Rodriguez to referee the fight, claiming the Chicago official has "developed a relationship" with the Klitschkos after twice taking charge of Wladimir's fights and also refereeing two involving his brother Vitali. "In all the Wladimir fights which this referee has been in charge of, he has allowed all kinds of fouls and long periods of holding. This is an ongoing dispute," claimed Booth. He's even suggesting that as a result of the squabble his man might not have to put his own title at risk while fighting to win the others.

You could dismiss it as just another bit of posturing, but this time it looks more like a mistake. Haye has talked glibly about how he's going to win by a knockout. But if he truly believed that, why worry about who will be the ref? Unless you get somebody who counts to 50 instead of ten it really wouldn't matter.

Betfair's punters don't fancy Haye to win by a knockout - it's priced at [3.3]. If his trainer and manager doesn't really like his chances either, it rather confirms it's a bet to avoid. Knocking off heads in the virtual world is one thing. In the real world it's a different matter altogether.

Five things you might not know about Emanuel Steward

1. Born in July 1944 in West Virginia, he was eight when he started boxing and two years later won his first fight with a knockout. At 12 he moved with his mum to Detroit and was a regular visitor to the gym where Joe Louis trained.

2. As an amateur boxer he won all but three of 97 fights - and beat hot favourite Larry Glover to win the 1963 Golden Gloves as a bantamweight. He switched to training to teach his younger brother how to box.
3. He worked as an electrician before going full time and establishing the Kronk gym as one of boxing's most successful - lightweight Hilmer Kenty was his first world champion but Tommy 'Hit Man' Hearns arguably the most famous in his early years.
4. He keeps a collection of Rolls Royce cars at his Detroit mansion, where he also has a private gym. He used it to train rap star Eminem who wanted to beef up for a 2004 film role.
5. He says he likes to spend his leisure time alone, and loves vegetable gardening. He grows corn, tomatoes and cucumbers.

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1. Anonymous | 28 June 2011

   Klitschko will knock him unconscious. And Britain will keep falling into a Third World toilet.

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