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Haye: I've not given up on Wladimir rematch

David Haye was blind-sided by Manuel Charr © Getty Images

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David Haye insists he has not given up on the prospect of a rematch with Wladimir Klitschko, but his more realistic target for now is to lure brother Vitali into the ring by destroying all his recent achievements.

Haye lost to Wladimir in a 2011 world heavyweight title fight and the Ukrainian has shown no interest in a sequel. The Brit angered Klitschko with his pre- and post-fight antics, wearing a T-shirt depicting him holding the heads of both brothers, and it is understood that such conduct has cost him any hope of a rematch.

Instead, Haye will face Manuel Charr on June 29 in Manchester before going after Vitali. All talk of Wladimir has subsided, yet he insists it is inaccurate to suggest he no longer wants the multiple title-holder.

"No, I would love to have the opportunity to do it again," Haye told Buncey's Boxing Podcast on ESPN. "I believe I've got a few things up my sleeve that I would do a lot differently this time round.

"I've relied on the fairness of the referee as part of my plan which you should never do, it's out of my control, you can never control what the referee's going to do so I'd do things differently now knowing that the referee will probably allow him to do the things he wants to do.

"There's no one out there with my speed or agility or my punch power to get rid of him. Someone like [Francesco] Pianeta or the guys he's been fighting have no chance in hell. If you watch my fight again, if you turn off the commentary and actually watch the fight he's holding on for dear life on many occasions.

"I hurt him more than he hurt me. He hit me on the button and he didn't have my legs gone at any stage. I had him holding on for dear life in the last round and in the middle round. I hurt him more than he hurt me and I just need to do more of that."

First up, Haye must dispose of Charr, whom he admits got under his skin at their recent press conference.

"I was actually expecting a little more at the press conference!" Haye said. "He came with a flag that said peace on it! I wasn't expecting that. I thought he was going to come up or make some bold statements; he made a poster of my decapitated head so I expected him to say he was going to rip my head off but he didn't.

"He was very flattering towards me. He took me by surprise. I was expecting a dynamic, exciting press conference but it was quite Klitschko-esque, it was very boring! He caught me off guard, it was actually the first time I've been caught off guard in a press conference but maybe he's trying to sucker punch me, maybe he's trying to sneak up on me.

"I know he's training hard, this is a fight he's been desperately looking for, he's said he's seen something in my style that he feels he can capitalise on so it should be a good fight. He does nothing clever but walk forward and throw big punches so you're going to get an exciting fight I can guarantee."

The challenge for Haye is not only to beat Charr, but to do it more impressively than Vitali managed in order to create pressure on the veteran to accept a fight further down the line.

"No doubt about it. Vitali fought Derek Chisora, he beat him over 12 rounds. I fought him in his next fight; I knocked him out in five rounds," Haye said.

"Vitali only managed to stop Manny Charr on a cut eye and the doctor who waved the fight off was none other than Klitschko's doctors so it was kind of dodgy the way it all went down but that's in the past now. I'm looking to get the job done properly."

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