Haye relishes a bout with Joshua

David Haye has ruled out fighting Tyson Fury this year and is instead aiming for a bout with Anthony Joshua as well as earning a shot at the WBC or IBF world heavyweight titles.

It has been three-and-a-half years since Haye (26-2, 24 KOs) last appeared in a professional ring and it was assumed he had retired after being forced to pull out of a fight against Fury in 2013 with a shoulder injury.

But Haye, 35, will fight again at the O2 Arena in London next Saturday, with claims that more than 14,000 tickets have already been sold for his comeback in a 12-round non-title bout.

The former world heavyweight and cruiserweight world champion faces Australian Mark de Mori (30-1-2, 26 KOs) and is planning a busy schedule to help get him back into world title contention.

But Haye does not expect to fight fellow Briton Fury, the WBA and WBO world heavyweight champion, late in 2016.

Fury, 26, is due to face Wladimir Klitschko in a rematch after out-pointing the Ukrainian in an upset in November. Fury also captured the IBF belt for beating Klitschko, but the IBF stripped the Manchester boxer of their title for agreeing to a rematch instead of facing Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov next.ESPN