David Haye: 'I'm not blaming Klitschko defeat on toe'

David Haye has told Newsbeat he lost to Wladimir Klitschko in Germany on Saturday night because he was beaten by the better man, not because of his broken toe.

The British boxer lost the heavyweight unification clash on points and after the fight seemed to blame his performance on the injury.

The 30-year-old Londoner says he was just outfought on the night.

"I didn't blame the loss on the injury. The reason why I lost is because Wladimir was better then me, he landed more shots," Haye admitted.

"The reason why I couldn't land my right hand, partly, was because I had an injury but a big part of it was the fact that Wladimir's defence was very good.

"I've had injuries in the past. I've broken my hand before a fight and still managed to win the fight and I thought this fight would be the same but it just wasn't that way."

'Negative'

David Haye lost his WBA heavyweight title to 35-year-old Klitschko, who also retained his IBF and WBO belts, at Hamburg's Imtech Arena.

The British boxer had a go at American referee Genaro Rodriguez after the fight and blamed Wladimir Klitschko's camp for having to walk through the crowd to get to the ring.

He also defended himself against criticism from promoter Frank Warren, who thinks Haye should retire.

"Frank Warren, I don't think, has ever said a nice word about me," he said. "He always has a dig at every opportunity.

"Even when I've won my fights he'll still find a way to see a negative in it, so I don't really listen to his opinions."

After the match, David Haye said he'd love to fight Wladimir Klitschko again when he was fully fit but was also still considering retiring before turning 31 in October.

He told Newsbeat that he would love a Klitschko rematch, if he was given the chance.

"I always knew how good he was," he said. "There's a reason why he's been unbeaten in seven years, there's a reason why he's been so consistent and he's won so many fights by knockout - because he's got a great jab, a great right hand and he's got a really awkward defence.

"In a rematch, if I was lucky enough to be get given a rematch, I believe I'd be able to do things differently but whether I get that opportunity remains to be seen."

Apology

Haye also apologised to fans who weren't able to watch the match after some Sky customers were hit by technical problems.

David Haye had been planning one more fight before retiring in October

The broadcaster said there was an "issue" with late phone and online bookings after "unprecedented demand" to watch the pay-per-view coverage.

"I think they were inundated with calls to book the fight because it was so big," Haye said.

"We really tried to push people booking it two or three weeks prior to the fight just to make sure that, if there was a big surge late doors on Saturday night, everybody would be able to buy it.

"I'd like to apologise to anyone out there who got the beers in, got round the gaff and then wasn't able to watch the fight."