The former WBC champion earned a career-best payday at The O2 Arena in London when downing Haye before taking him out late on.
Bellew thanked Haye following the win, but says he now wishes things would have turned out different due to the tense pre-fight needle the pair went through.
“I’m still disgusted by his comments and I regret embracing him at the end,’ Bellew told The Daily Mail.
“But I embraced him because, you have to remember, this man had just helped secure my children’s future. And that’s the first thing that went through my mind after I beat him.
“I didn’t think about what he’d said or what he’d done. If I thought back to what he’d said, I’d have probably hit him again.”
(Lawrence Lustig)
On what he thinks of Haye now, Bellew added: “I still think he’s a cast iron asshole. I don’t think he’s a nice fella but it took two of us to get it right.”
‘The Bomber’ has been linked to fights with both Andre Ward and Joseph Parker since the Haye triumph, whilst many fans still want to see a rematch.
Some beleive an achilles injury reported by Haye days before the contest was a telling factor after flaring up in the mid-rounds and ultimately hampering the veteran’s movement.
Haye, 35, recently announced his new promotional stable, including Rio 2016 Silver medallist Joe Joyce, but harbors hopes to return to action by December this year.
