“He’s made a few comments about me – he called me an idiot and doesn’t seem too impressed with me, saying I don’t behave and don’t conduct myself like a professional athlete, blah, blah, blah. So I think I’ve gotten under his skin, and hopefully that goes into his gameplan, because the more furious he is with me, the more he wants to punish me. I’m a great counterpuncher, and I’m sure he’ll give me plenty of his big head to hit when the first bell rings,” David Haye told Boxingscene.com.

Haye’s coach, Adam Booth, told Sportbox.ru that his man’s negative rhetoric is only intended to attract more attention to the fight and increase the sales of tickets.

Valuev, for his part, suggests that boxing is not about talking, but about proving your strength and abilities in the ring – and it’s not Haye’s words, but his speed which he’s worried about.

“I have been preparing myself for the bout with Haye for a long time. My coach and I understand that Haye is going to put a stake on his speed. But I am ready for that. I am always preparing for a full-length fight. I never guess in which round I’ll knock my opponent down,” Nikolay Valuev wrote in his blog in Sportbox.ru.

The Haye-Valuev bout will take place in the Swiss city of Bern on Saturday, November 7.

The fight will be the debut in the heavyweight division for the British boxer, who used to be the undisputed cruiserweight champion.