HAMBURG // David Haye has renewed his taunting of Wladimir Klitschko by claiming the E coli outbreak in Germany poses more of a threat to him than his opponent's punches.
The deadly strain has claimed 48 lives so far and was blamed on bean sprouts from an organic farm in Germany.
Despite the fighter's tongue-in-cheek quip, his trainer Adam Booth has revealed the team have in fact brought two vans stocked with organic British produce to feed the WBA heavyweight champion ahead of Saturday's unification fight in Hamburg.
"The German E coli is more dangerous than Klitschko, without a doubt!" Haye said to Press Association Sport.
"I can control what Wladimir does but if I get that E coli, I'm not sure what my defence for it will be like. But I can defend myself against whatever Wladimir is going to chuck at me on Saturday night."
The finger of blame for the outbreak has been pointed in various directions, but only yesterday German officials closed a primary school due to the ongoing threat.
Experts have also issued warnings about cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce in the country as they fight to contain the outbreak.
Haye normally consumes only carefully sourced, 100 per cent organic British food under the direction of his nutritionist Ruben Tabares anyway, so this week's measures are not particularly out of the ordinary.
His trainer and manager Booth said: "We've sent two vans of food over with us to Hamburg.
"We're not eating any German bean sprouts — everything is English and organic."
Booth, whose fighter risks his WBA title with Klitschko's IBF and WBO belts on the line at the Imtech Arena, was less wary of the bug's threat than his charge.
"The chances of getting hit by E coli are 0.01 per cent which are better odds than getting hit by Wladimir Klitschko," he said.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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