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I feel like Mother Teresa ahead of Haye fight - Harrison

Audley Harrison says David Haye is 'scared' © Getty Images

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Audley Harrison has moved his pre-fight chat into overdrive, likening himself to Mother Teresa whilst claiming David Haye is "scared to lose".

Harrison makes frequent use of the word "destiny" in the build-up to Saturday's showdown, which sees Haye's WBA world heavyweight title go on the line. The champion is an overwhelming favourite, but Harrison is making every effort to ensure he wins the mind games.

Looking ahead to the MEN Arena this weekend Harrison, who was a former training partner of Haye, insists his former friend is showing huge signs of weakness.

"David Haye is scared to lose. So as a result he has trained so hard... but for me, it is my destiny. I am cool and calm. David's trying to fake like he's cool and collected, but they're in disarray," Harrison told Sky Sports News.

"My willpower will not be broken. My spirit, my resistance, I'm unbreakable. I cannot be broken in this fight by David Haye. I could knock him out in a couple of rounds the way things are going. I'm expecting the fight of my life, 12 rounds. But the way David Haye is looking, when I look into his eyes - I know David Haye better than he knows himself - he's starting to wilt.

"Don't be surprised if I knock him out in a couple of rounds. I'm telling you, look at David Hayes' willpower, it's starting to fade."

Haye is, at the time of writing, an 1/8 favourite to beat his compatriot on Saturday, but Harrison insists those odds are hugely misleading. "There's a saying that God doesn't give you anything you can't handle," he comments in the Guardian. "Mother Teresa, bless her soul, said: 'I just wish he didn't trust me so much'. I feel the same. I can handle it but, sometimes, I just think, 'God, you really trust me' - because sometimes I feel under such pressure. But you keep going because life is a journey of light and shade.

"When David was 18 he worshipped me and so he knows I'm the master. And the more this promotion goes on the clearer it becomes. David Haye is the champion but this has become the Audley Harrison Show.

"I'm buoyant, excited, motivated, determined and ready to do what I was born to do. These are the moments where I wake up, where I stand up. Other people crumble under this pressure. But I'm totally cool, calm and collected because this is where I thrive. Ten years ago I proved it at the Olympics and I've gone back to that place. I'm Mr Cool Calm and Collected again."

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