In Bavaria, the land of oompah bands and fantasy castles, David Haye is planning a little fairytale of his own. But building up Nikolay Valuev into a monster from folklore was possibly the easy bit, slaying the giant will prove more problematic.

The pair meet for Valuev’s WBA heavyweight title on Saturday and Haye got a chance to stare upwards at the task that awaits him yesterday. As Valuev, at 7ft, the biggest world champion in history, towered over him, Haye said that the Russian did not look any smaller than the last time they met.

“His head looks bigger,” he said. “I don’t think I’ll have any trouble hitting that.”

Haye, almost incredibly, is a heavy odds-on favourite with British bookmakers, a price that seems to ignore Haye’s inexperience as a heavyweight as well as the huge physical disadvantages that he will have to overcome.

The Londoner’s self-belief is proving infectious, among Britons at least. However, he will have to do more than click his heels together and dream to beat Valuev.

For all the trash talk — which has been going on for almost a year since he first called out the Klitschko brothers — what Haye now needs is to find a way to overcome Valuev’s gigantic advantages in height and reach. History is stacked up against Haye, who has a mere 15 minutes of heavyweight experience, but the 29-year-old is not about to put anyone off backing him.

Speed and power are what Haye believes will be the key to victory. And talk of going for a knockout does not seem to be a bluff from a boxer with a cagier game plan.

“He hasn’t fought anyone of my calibre, he’s never fought anyone in their prime or someone so fired up,” Haye said. “I’m not one of these guys he’s used to fighting. I’m not over the hill, I’m not tainted, I’m not past my sell-by date. I am fresh, I am ready.

“I am going to embarrass him, knock him out. He’s never fought anyone as fast or who punches as hard as me, or as accurately. I know he feels I’m a little mouthy man from England, but he’s going to be in for a rude awakening when that bell goes.”

Valuev, 36, has generally kept his opinion of Haye to himself, but, according to those behind him, “little mouthy man from England” is probably a kind way of how the world views Haye at present.

“In Las Vegas last week, I lost count of the number of people who came up to me and said, ‘Tell Nikolay to take care of David Haye’s dirty mouth,’ ” said Pavel Gouzman, who is representing Valuev’s co-promoter, Don King. “People can’t seem to stand him.”

Haye, though, is not about to start issuing apologies. “I’ve walked the walk in my previous fights and I’ve done a lot of talking along the way, but I’ve always backed it up,” he said.Should Haye win he will not be able to face either Klitschko brother because the winner of Saturday’s bout has been ordered to face John Ruiz, the former champion.

In keeping with Haye’s difficult image, he has become embroiled in two rows already this week with the German promoters. First he objected to the hotel he was booked into and now he is embroiled in an argument over the bout’s start time. ARD, the German host broadcaster, wants it to start at about 10.35pm (9.35pm GMT), but Haye, keen that pay-per-view sales on Sky Box Office will not be hit by a clash with The X Factor, wants to be in the ring an hour later and is even threatening to make Valuev wait.

If the insults have not made Valuev mad, that just might.

•Matthew Macklin, the European middleweight champion from Birmingham, faces Rafa Sosa Pintos, of Uruguay, at the National Stadium, Dublin, on December 5. Macklin has Irish parents.