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David Haye is not impressed by the condition he saw Tyson Fury in at the world heavyweight champion's press conference for Fury's rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, calling him "grossly overweight" and comparing him unfavorably to Buster Douglas.
"Really, it was quite sad to see a young world champion looking grossly overweight. 10 weeks away, he shouldn't be worrying about losing weight but worrying about tactics, punches, angles, timing, rhythms, strategies.
"He's doing a Buster Douglas, who beat Mike Tyson and then ate himself into a diabetic coma. People will say you just fluked it. Fury could lose it if he loses the rematch."
Haye (27-2, 25 KO) had a fight with Fury set a few years ago, but wound up retiring from boxing after shoulder surgery. He made his return this past January after a three-and-a-half year absence, easily stopping Australia's Mark de Mori in about two minutes. He will be back again on May 21, taking on Arnold Gjergjaj (29-0, 21 KO) of Kosovo.
Haye, who will face Shannon Briggs this fall if both win this weekend (Briggs faces Alexander Dimitrenko on the same card), also says he's looking to face Anthony Joshua next year:
"His promoter has said he would be interested in fighting me but not this year, which is understandable. I saw Anthony at an awards ceremony and I congratulated him on winning the world title and we said if we keep winning we will have a big fight next year. It's the fight everyone wants and it's all about next year at the moment."
Haye, 35, is taking a fairly careful route to a big fight, but the big fight is why he came back, and everyone has been aware of that since his return was made official. The ultimate idea was always a fight with Fury, who has said he will not entertain fighting Haye again after Haye's postponements and cancellation cost him valuable time and money, or Anthony Joshua, who holds the IBF title now, and is also the fastest rising star in the sport.