HAMBURG // David Haye's attempts to get under Wladimir Klitschko's skin may have paid off as the build-up to Saturday's showdown intensifies.
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The Ukrainian IBF and WBO champion hit out at some of Haye's crude pre-fight goading, condemning the Londoner's "disgraceful and disrespectful" comments about executions, decapitations and ambulances.
Haye's trash talking is two-fold as be bids to promote the fight and also lure his arch-rival into a scrap rather than a boxing match in Hamburg.
Yesterday's final press conference was unsurprisingly compelling and 30-year-old WBA champion Haye's latest tasteless soundbite appears to have finally got Klitschko angry.
"This is going to be the most brutal execution of a boxer that you've seen for many, many years," he said. "I'm going to go out there and absolutely destroy him, really quickly."
Klitschko, 35, told Press Association Sport: "No matter what, it is disgraceful and disrespectful for a man to wish to damage your health.
"This game, this sport, is very intense and unfortunately there have been a lot of cases where people have been handicapped and people have died during and after fights.
"It's not something you can joke about to promote yourself.
"It's something you do not say. I felt embarrassed at the way David Haye acted in the press conference. Because it also casts a shadow on the sport.
"I just feel an obligation to give him some rehabilitation on July 2 because it will make him a better person.
"It's very important to put his feet back on the ground. I think with all the wins that he got recently he became really cocky and totally big-headed.
"I'm angry for the last three years but it has transformed into concentration and motivation now."
The buzz around the fight continues to increase with around 8,000 Britons heading for Hamburg and Sky Box Office drawing huge interest for a fight which is long overdue.
The pair's rivalry has run for three years — they were due to meet originally in June 2009 — and Haye said yesterday: "A lot of people didn't think it would get this far and thought I would pull out with an injury or something.
"But I'm here. I'm in tremendous shape and I'm ready to do what I always promised I'd do.
"Wladimir is in great shape, he's mentally prepared and for me that's tremendous.
"It's going to be fun to watch this big robot start malfunctioning. That's exactly what's going to happen.
"I'm healthy, my speed is ridiculous, my punch power is there and I'm in a really good place."
Haye's renowned self-promotional skills helped him secure a unification bout with Wladimir Klitschko and he now hopes his tactics have won him the psychological war ahead of Saturday's unification bout.
Here are some of the Londoner's more memorable publicity stunts during the long-running feud:
02 ambush
World cruiserweight champion Haye is looking to make waves in the heavyweight division in 2008 and hears of Klitschko's presence at an event at the 02 Arena in Greenwich. Seizing his chance, the brash upstart ambushes Klitschko in front of the cameras and calls out the champion, successfully setting the wheels in motion.
The infamous t-shirt
Haye produces a T-shirt emblazoned with a mocked-up image of him holding aloft the severed, bloody heads of Klitschko and his elder brother Vitali. The stunt genuinely riles the brothers but also slightly tarnishes Haye's reputation.
Social network slurs
Throughout the the three-year saga Haye's reputation as the world's pound-for-pound trash-talking champion is further enhanced by regular unpleasant jibes on Twitter, ranging from crude play-on wording to violent boasts about seriously hurting his nemesis.
Unsportsmanlike conduct
With the fight against Wladimir finally secured, the pair embark on their promotional tour. Haye refuses Wladimir's handshake every time it is offered in an unsophisticated attempt to fan the flames further.
iPhone App
Haye, ever the entrepreneur, introduces a game to the burgeoning smartphone "app" market called David Haye's Knockout, with users playing as Haye aiming to knock the head off a giant eastern European. Though crude, the game sells well and garners yet more headlines.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
If you go
Flight connections to Ulaanbaatar are available through a variety of hubs, including Seoul and Beijing, with airlines including Mongolian Airlines and Korean Air. While some nationalities, such as Americans, don’t need a tourist visa for Mongolia, others, including UAE citizens, can obtain a visa on arrival, while others including UK citizens, need to obtain a visa in advance. Contact the Mongolian Embassy in the UAE for more information.
Nomadic Road offers expedition-style trips to Mongolia in January and August, and other destinations during most other months. Its nine-day August 2020 Mongolia trip will cost from $5,250 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, two nights’ hotel accommodation in Ulaanbaatar, vehicle rental, fuel, third party vehicle liability insurance, the services of a guide and support team, accommodation, food and entrance fees; nomadicroad.com
A fully guided three-day, two-night itinerary at Three Camel Lodge costs from $2,420 per person based on two sharing, including airport transfers, accommodation, meals and excursions including the Yol Valley and Flaming Cliffs. A return internal flight from Ulaanbaatar to Dalanzadgad costs $300 per person and the flight takes 90 minutes each way; threecamellodge.com
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
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