David Haye aware of ring rust concern, still fully confident heading into Mark de Mori clash

David Haye is now 35-years-old, coming off a layoff over three years long as he gets ready to face Mark de Mori tomorrow in London. He's is fully aware that his lengthy time off is a justifiable concern.

"It's the unknown because I've never had this length of time off in my career," said Haye, who also held RING, WBC and WBO cruiserweight titles. "A lot of people are saying that I'll experience ring rust and timing issues, and I did encounter those problems during the early stages of training camp.

"If my timing is off on Saturday and I miss some punches, or get caught with some punches then it could make for a very entertaining fight. I've trained hard and I'm as confident as can be expected, so hopefully I'm back to my best and my timing will be spot on. Still, would I bet my life on it? No, I wouldn't."

Haye also spent some time talking about his new training regiment that focuses on injury prevention -- something he attributes to him twice pulling out of lucrative fights with new heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Now Haye says he's found the right balance in reducing the amount of physical stress he takes during training while still getting into top shape.

Haye admits that he wasn't completely familiar with de Mori with he asked to make a fight with him but felt he was big and strong enough to give him some good rounds. But Haye is also looking towards some bigger fights, one in particular which he believes could potentially be record-breaking in the UK.

"As far as I'm concerned, Anthony Joshua has proven himself a force to be reckoned with and a fight between us could be one of the biggest all-British heavyweight clashes in history. Maybe the biggest. I relish those nights and I want the opportunity to take part in the big heavyweight fights that fans will remember for years to come."

He finally admits that he doesn't expect to win a major heavyweight title this year, but does expect to be in good position to contend for one. For him, it all starts with tomorrow's fight against de Mori.