FORMER heavyweight champion David Haye claims he’ll earn more for his upcoming clash with Joe Fournier than he did for his first fight with Tony Bellew.
The Hayemaker will throw down with his entrepreneur pal on September 11 on the undercard of Oscar De La Hoya’s comeback fight with ex-UFC star Vitor Belfort.
Streaming platform Triller have stumped up a considerable amount of cash to lure Haye out of retirement, providing him with a bigger purse than the £4.2million he received for his December 2017 clash with The Bomber.
When asked about his purse, the 40-year-old told iFL TV: “It’s more than the pay [for the Bellew fight]. More than the pay. It’s crazy.
“It’s more than what I got [paid] for Bellew one. I know, that’s what I’m saying. It’s crazy dough.
“So what am I going to say to that? ‘No, I’m not going to fight Joe Fournier for that?’ What would people think if I didn’t fight him for that?
“What would they think? They’d think, I’ve got something wrong with me.
“I don’t. I’m really healthy, really good.
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“I’ve just got to go through the motions and do what I do and let the universe even itself out. And yeah, it’s a good month’s work.”
Haye has no intention of launching an official comeback, saying: “Even if it’s only a month of training, it’s hard to put your body through that.
“You have to sacrifice, you’ve gotta go to bed at a certain time, you’ve gotta cancel all of your other arrangements, put all of your other business on hold.
“That’s what I do when I’m training for a fight, everything gets put on the back burner.
“I’d only do that for PPV money, good PPV money, and that’s what he brought to the table.”
Haye retired from boxing in June 2018 after suffering a second consecutive defeat to Bellew.
But the Hammersmith hitman is confident he has plenty left in the tank to beat the 9-0 Fournier.
He said: “This is not a comeback, this is about teaching Joe Fournier there are levels to the boxing game.
“One must stay in their lane or risk getting flattened.
“There are certain things in life you can’t buy – Joe ‘The Billionaire’ Fournier needs to learn that.
“I was the heavyweight champion of the world just 10 years ago. I’m only 40. Joe is delusional. Champions are born not bought.”
Billionaire Fournier is adamant he’ll get the better of the former WBA heavyweight king, saying: “I will shock the world and knock out David Haye.
“Unquestionably one of the hardest challenges of my life, but this is the perfect fight at the perfect time for me.
“Haye is riddled with injuries, 10 years past his prime. I was a late starter to this pro boxing game – now I’m coming into my fighting prime.
“I’m healthy, motivated and ready to prove a point to Haye that on September 11, I will be victorious.”
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