Boxing: David Haye and Tony Bellew enter twilight fight scrapping over lottery ticket to the heavyweight bonanza

Here we go again.

Welcome to the second edition of the nasty boxing frolic between Tony Bellew and David Haye, a fight at the O2 on Saturday for a lottery ticket to the heavyweight bonanza. The winner gets the golden envelope, the invite to the party, the loser gets the consolation blanket of despair and some fake words.

They did it last year with far more vulgarity, profanity and awful predictions before the opening bell than they have mustered this time, which is a mild relief. At the final press conference by the Thames on Thursday, Haye got his lips close to Bellew’s mouth and was shoved away; it was a rare anger flash in this fight’s build-up.

Last year was different, there was a lot of hate. However, just as cynics were doubting the hatred, they fought a truly desperate struggle on the night to silence any doubters. Bellew won in the 11th round, Haye was forced to fight six rounds with a ruptured Achilles and there was something painfully unfinished about their business. It is business of the most brutish kind, two fading stars battling the twilight, both convinced they can win a fight neither can lose.

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“I’ve watched the fight back and it doesn’t look like me,” said Haye, who is two years older than Bellew at 37. “It looks like somebody doing a crap impersonation of me.” Haye, in all fairness, has not looked like the Haye from the night he won the world heavyweight title in 2009 for a long, long time.

This time Bellew has promised not to repeat the final, unexpected embrace from last March when he helped Haye to a corner with a gentle hand. It was a welcome gesture at the end of the pitiless slugfest, a fight when both men had so little left when it was mercifully stopped that all plans for the year were frozen. The message this time from Bellew is simple: it is personal and Bellew has long made personal issues his motivation in life. Haye and his team from Freuds, the PR outfit, have been on a charm, respect and praise offensive, insisting the fighter is “mentally, physically and spiritually fit”. Haye knows he was suckered last time, falling victim to Bellew’s relentless and impressive belligerence. “I will not engage in any of his negativity,” Haye vowed ten days ago.

This time the yoga, the vegan diet and the deep breaths have managed to keep Bellew’s endless rants at a safe distance. Well, that is what Haye wants people to believe, but inside the embarrassment of losing has been slowly taking its toll.

“The problem with Haye is that he gives me no credit – that’s what hurts him the most,” Bellew told Five Live. “I have a fantastic boxing brain and I can adapt. That’s my advantage over him.” Bellew is genuinely calm, so confident that he can repeat the win.

Haye fought with some old injuries last time, fought without any respect for Bellew and he entered the ring believing that just one half-decent right hand would have him back in the dressing room in minutes, dousing his body in the fragrance of oud before dashing to a glitzy party to celebrate. Bellew, thankfully, had a careful plan, was boxing with his brain, resisting the temptation to be stupid and avoiding the emotion from the build-up before the Achilles went; Haye was immediately lame, and Bellew took over. It was 4-1 in rounds in Haye’s favour when the pop happened in round six of a wild fight.

“It’s a crazy circus and we are the gladiators, there to entertain,” added Bellew when reminded of the first fight’s drama. “I accept that, I understand: I’m a prizefighter and the prize is the money.”

The rematch was scheduled for late December but with four weeks to go Haye injured his left bicep, withdrew under a tiny cloud of doubt before going under the surgeon’s knife. It was, it turns out, a timely injury and Bellew has admitted he was not ready to box last December. He had not recovered from a draining, dreadful time after his brother-in-law had died. “It took a piece of my life,” said Bellew. “I was nowhere near mentally fit to fight in December – I have no idea what I would have done in the ring then.” They are both ready now.

“A split decision win will not be enough, it has to be spectacular, it has to be a knockout,” Haye said last week. It is becoming increasingly clear that Haye is desperate to change his boxing history and is no longer content to walk away happy, as he first did in 2011.

“I might just bite on my gum shield and have a fight,” Bellew said. “I know I have to be careful, but I just want to fight right now. The thought of fighting him has helped me get in a better place.” Bellew was so shattered last year after the fight that he contemplated quitting.

By midnight on Saturday both will be icing down their aching parts, one will know he has moved closer to either Anthony Joshua or Deontay Wilder, the heavyweight champions with all the power, and the other will have slipped closer to the exit. The problem is that victory comes in fights like this at an evil price, taking away a lot of what the winner has left and that makes this fight such a grisly spectacle once again.