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As anyone who has ever attempted to eat a microwaved pasty will be well aware, unreasonable haste can leave you badly burned.

I doubt if David Haye has ever tackled a microwaved pasty. But he might want to think about making them the cornerstone of his diet following his in London next summer.

Haye will be giving away about 30lb in weight and four-and-a-half inches in height to the . Perhaps more important, Vitali has never been knocked down, and rarely rocked.

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, when asked how he felt after beating , replied: "I didn't beat Sugar Ray - I beat his ghost."

You might have expected Downes to take greater pleasure from outpointing the greatest fighter who ever lived. But beneath their hard exteriors, boxers are often sensitive souls, especially when it comes to the agonies of their brothers in arms.

Londoner Downes met Robinson in 1962, when the former welter and middleweight world champion was 41. He'd engaged in 162 professional fights. No point gloating -Downes knew his sell-by date had long gone.

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"That's the position as of now, but with boxing, you never know." So said when I asked him less than a fortnight ago if he'd be in corner at London's ExCeL Arena on Saturday. When I spoke to him again last Friday, he confirmed he wouldn't be.

Just when you think boxing can't possibly get any more hatstand, something always pops up to prove you wrong.

The last many British fight fans would have seen of Stretch he was being smashed through the ropes by a booming overhand right from at the Earls Court Exhibition Hall in 1991. 'Beauty v The Best' they called that fight. Unfortunately for Stretch, it lived up to the billing.

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Boxing hasn't yet stooped to the level of giving individual press conferences bombastic taglines (give it time). But must have been sorely tempted to break new ground in London on Tuesday.

With the nation's sports writers assembled for the - Warren's media people might have plumped for "King Frank Strikes Back".

For there have been times in recent years when Britain's pre-eminent boxing promoter seemed to be losing his clout. First jumped ship, followed by , while , the country's most exciting talent, resisted Warren's charms.

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