Boxing

DAVID'S DIARY

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12 November 2007

Two days before the biggest fight of his career, David Haye writes exclusively for the ‘News’

Well, here we are. The final few days before I dethrone undisputed world cruiserweight champion Jean-Marc Mormeck and bring his WBC and WBA titles back to Bermondsey.

I completed 15 rounds of pad and bag work at the weekend, and am feeling better than I've ever felt before. I was just as fast, strong and powerful in the 15th round as I was in the first. The training has finished now, and I feel more than ready for what lies ahead.

Last Saturday in Cardiff, Joe Calzaghe completed the first leg of Britain's three-pronged attack on undisputed world title honours. He beat Mikkel Kessler on points and now can claim ownership of the WBO, WBA and WBC belts.

Mormeck, like Kessler, is the WBC and WBA champion of his division, and I'm ready and willing to grab both his belts. Not only that, I will also become 'The Ring' magazine champion, which is equally important to me.

Joe is the champion in his division, and Ricky Hatton also holds the title at junior welterweight. I will join that elite band of boxers when I destroy Mormeck.

British boxing is unquestionably on the up right now. Calzaghe and Hatton are the best in their respective divisions, and I'm about to become the best in mine. It reminds me of former years when our country's best boxers actually took risks, challenged themselves against the best and travelled overseas and upset champions.

On that note, there are similarities between my fight with Mormeck and Lloyd Honeyghan's famous 1986 win over American Don Curry in Atlantic City. At the time, Curry was a power-punching destroyer who had won his last seven fights by knockout. He was one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Honeyghan was an undefeated guy from Bermondsey who travelled to America with a slim hope, but nobody was buying it. He was a massive underdog. He had some decent wins on his record, but had never met anyone like Curry before.

Not only did Honeyghan travel overseas and produce one of the greatest upsets of all time, he broke Curry down and stopped him by the halfway mark (Curry was pulled out on his stool at the end of the 6th round). Lloyd didn't even think about the odds that night. The judges weren't on his mind, either. He knew in his heart he had the ability to live with Curry, and he was right.

Another fight I have used for inspiration is Nigel Benn's win over Gerald McClellan in 1995. Again, nobody gave Benn a prayer in that one - but through determination and guts he managed to somehow pull off the win.

Both Honeyghan and Benn were Londoners, and it's been a long time since London has been able to celebrate a genuine world champion. I'm really confident I can go some way to emulating Benn, and especially Bermondsey's Honeyghan, in winning not one but two genuine world titles on November 10.

In the lead up to Saturday's fight, I will be mainly resting up and watching what I eat. The weigh-in takes place on Friday, and until then, I can't afford any mistakes diet-wise. Once the weigh-in is over, I can relax a little and start living like a normal person again.

Mormeck has had his time.
My time starts on Saturday evening.

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