Boxing

Valuev brands Haye 'an idiot'

WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev has shrugged off David Haye's latest promotional stunt and dismissed the Englishman as just 'another idiot'.

Outspoken trash-talker Haye, 29, took part in a farcical press conference last week which saw a man turn up dressed in a Halloween outfit apparently pretending to be 7ft Valuev.

After goading Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko earlier this year with a graphic t-shirt depicting one of the brothers' severed head, Haye has attempted to wind the Russian giant up by constantly mocking his size and personal hygiene.

Valuev, however, remains distinctly unimpressed. Ahead of their clash in Nuremberg, Germany on November 7, he said: 'I don't really care about what he says or does.

'I cannot take him seriously. When I first heard about the t-shirts where he chopped the Klitschkos, I thought 'Oh my God, another idiot in our world'.

'He can say whatever he likes - it will not get him my title.'

Valuev - who has never been floored, let alone knocked out - added: 'Everything has been going very well thus far.

'I will be in perfect shape on November 7. Let's see what Haye has to say after our meeting in the ring - I doubt it will be much.'

Promoter Kalle Sauerland seems mildly amused by Haye's antics.

'Haye|s behaviour is very strange and not normal at all.

'I think one German phrase sums it up well: "1,000 volts, but no light".'

 
RTÉ.ie Sport: Nikolai Valuev is not impressed by David Haye's pre-fight talk
Nikolai Valuev is not impressed by David Haye's pre-fight talk
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