EXCLUSIVE: Fury fears Haye will pull out of clash again after February date is agreed



Tyson Fury fears David Haye may pull out of their big heavyweight fight for a second time, despite agreeing to a rescheduled date of February 8 in Manchester.

So strong is their concern that Team Fury are planning an interim fight for late October or early November this year.

Peter Fury, Tyson’s trainer and uncle, reacted to the hurried rearrangement following Haye’s eye cut by saying: ‘We are accepting February 8 but we’re not convinced they won’t cry off again.’

VIDEO Scroll down to watch David Haye confirms Fury fight rescheduled for February 8



Doubts: Tyson Fury (right) is not convinced of David Haye's commitment to fight him in February

Fury is worried that the postponement of this Saturday’s battle of Britain is allowing Haye to buy time in case Alexandre Povetkin pulls off a shock world title victory over Wladimir Klitschko one week later.

There have been reports of Haye’s manager-trainer Adam Booth meeting Povetkin’s advisors with a view to securing first rights to a championship challenge if the younger of the two Klitschko brothers loses his several title in Moscow on October 5.

Peter Fury says: ‘If Povetkin does get the upset then we won’t be holding our breath about our fight with Haye happening on February 8.

‘We know how they operate because they came to talk to us while they were preparing for a fight with Manuel Charr, and then pulled out of that one claiming Haye had damaged his hand.

‘There was more money for them to fight us on Sky. But if they can get Povetkin that will be even bigger money, plus there will be the world title on the line against a smaller opponent who they know will be easier to beat than Tyson.’

Plan: Fury believes Haye has one eye on fighting Alexander Povetkin (left) if he beats Wladimir Klitschko



This Saturday’s postponement, which follows Haye sustaining a cut to his left eyebrow in his final sparring session with barely la week to go, has also compromised Fury’s off-beat plan to take part in a kick-boxing match in Bucharest on October 26.

‘That may not happen now,’ says Peter Fury. ‘Because Haye is unreliable we can’t just sit around waiting for him. Not when we remain unconvinced about the Haye fight taking place. We need to fight in the current time scale for which Tyson has trained so hard. So we are looking for a decent boxer for Tyson in late October or early November.’

For that fight Fury will revert for TV coverage to Channel 5, even though the clash with Haye remains scheduled as a pay-per-view event on Sky Sports Box Office.

Meanwhile, Haye has vowed to expose Fury when they finally meet in the ring next year while the former two-weight world champion defended his decision to spar so close to fight night.



'News of the date in February is music to my ears,' he said. 'I was absolutely devastated this weekend, and felt as though I'd let a lot of people down. But now, with this new date, I couldn't be happier.

Ouch: Haye posted this picture of a cut he suffered which led to the fight being rescheduled for February

'My fans will still get the chance to see what they all wanted to see this weekend - they'll get to see Tyson Fury sparked out in a spectacular fashion.

'Tyson Fury might start to get brave now that he's received a stay of execution – and he might call me names and accuse me of ducking him – but that will all be short-lived, I can promise you.



'After hearing the nonsense he has come out with in the last few days, I'm even more determined to expose him in front of millions. And only the possibility of getting another chance to land punches on his massive head and doughy gut has helped cheer me up.



'Sparring eight days before a fight is nothing new or unusual. I've done this before fights in the past and never had an issue.



Calm before the storm: Sportsmail took this picture just hours before Haye suffered a cut in sparring

'Also, look at the history books. George Foreman sparred and got cut eight days before his 'Rumble in the Jungle' with Muhammad Ali – causing a six-week postponement - and Sugar Ray Leonard sparred and got knocked down five days before his fight with Marvin Hagler, but still managed to go on and win.

'Foreman and Leonard are two of the greatest fighters of all-time, so if it was good enough for them, it's certainly good enough for little old me. Not only that, those guys were preparing to face the likes of Ali and Hagler, while I was preparing to fight Tyson Fury, a man whose greatest triumph to date is shedding a few stone on Belgium's Biggest Loser fat camp.

'These things sometimes happen in training, and to suggest I decided against wearing a head-guard, or that the cut was premeditated, shows a clear lack of knowledge and understanding. This camp was no different to any other, aside from the fact it ended on an unlucky and sour note.'



Ticket holders for Saturday at the Manchester Arena have the choice of retaining them for use on February 8 or applying for refunds.





