The build-up to the first clash between Tony Bellew and David Haye was marked by an acrimonious and ugly war of words between the two fighters.If today's press conference is anything to go by, however, the two men might be best mates by the time they are scheduled to face off on May 5 at London's O2 Arena.The ill-feeling and ugly threats that overshadowed and tainted their first bout was replaced by a bizarre love-in as the fighters traded compliments rather than insults.Haye, who badly injured his ankle on the way to an 11th round stoppage defeat to the Liverpudlian in their previous meeting, was comically effusive in his admiration for Bellew."I love you, I love your beard, I have a poster of you on my wall, I have a crush on you."Bellew responded by praising the Londoners physique: "You trained brilliantly last time. You whipped your top off, you looked fantastic...I''ve always told you, you're beautiful."However, that nice compliment quickly turned into a brilliant threat."I'm still going to punch you, real, real hard, and a lot of times."You have labelled me so many things and there is this flip. You haven't been humbled."As the pair jested, it barely seemed conceivable that they are preparing to trade heavy punches in a couple of months, but at times it was apparent that their previous enmity was still bubbling away underneath the surface.The Liverpudlian Bellew mocked the performance of Haye during their last fight: "I could have put first class stamps on those shots they missed by so much, I sit with with the rosary beads every night praying you'll turn up… (because on) May 5 you are finished."Bellew was referring here to the cancellation of their scheduled rematch last December due to the injury prone 'Hayemaker' tearing a bicep in training leading to the fight being rescheduled for a showdown in May.Under a new trainer Ismael Salas and with a calm demeanor in marked contrast to his aggressive trash talking last time round, the 37-year-old Haye explained his new found calm.

"I boxed horrendously (in the first fight), Tony Bellew was a big factor in that… he forced me to fight badly," Haye said.

"Did he get under my skin? Yeah maybe. I needed that fuel at the time… (but) I'm not taking the bait this time, I took it last time."

He added: "It didn't work last time, the anger, hostility, whipping myself up… I'm trying not to focus my energy on animosity but on training, positivity… all of my losses have been when I'm angry."

It will be fascinating to see if these two men can continue to keep things civil as the countown intensifies to their much anticipated rematch. It is a hugely important fight in the context of their careers.

As Haye said today: "It's more than a fight. It's about more than that. "