David Haye
Encyclopedia
David Deron Haye is a retired English professional boxer
,
Haye is the former WBA heavyweight
champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA
, WBC
, WBO
, and The Ring
cruiserweight titles, and also the former European
cruiserweight champion.
In 1999, 18-year-old Haye participated at the world amateur championships in Houston, Texas, USA at light-heavyweight but was eliminated by experienced American Michael Simms
early in the contest.
At the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships
in Belfast, Northern Ireland he fought in the heavyweight 201 lb division where he beat world class Sebastian Köber
to reach the final where he gave Odlanier Solís
a standing eight count before being stopped by the Cuban in round three, and taking the silver medal.
, London, England, Haye turned professional in December 2002, aged 22, knocking out Tony Booth in two rounds.
In 2003 he won seven fights, two of which include the only fights Haye has fought in the United States. He won all by knockout, the most notable being a fourth round KO of Denmark
's Lolenga Mock, in which Haye had to come off the floor to win.
Haye's fights were regularly seen on the BBC
and his popularity began to grow in 2004, when he dispatched the 39-year-old ex-world champion "King" Arthur Williams
in three rounds.
Later that year, in his eleventh pro fight, he fought 40-year-old former WBO champion Carl Thompson
in a dramatic "youth vs experience" matchup. Haye started fast and alarmingly caught Thompson with constant barrages of power punches, coming close to forcing a stoppage at numerous points over the first few rounds.
Gradually, despite the early punishment he received, Thompson warmed up and worked his way into the fight whilst Haye seemed to tire and slow down. Thompson began to pressure Haye and knocked Haye down with a chopping right hand in round 5. With seven seconds left in the round, Thompson landed two jabs followed by a flush right hand which rocked a very tired Haye, and forced Haye's corner to throw in the towel.
Haye returned against Estonian Valery Semishkur, winning by TKO in round 1, then defeated Garry Delaney by a third round TKO. Following two more fights against Glen Kelly and Vincenzo Rossitto, Haye faced Alexander Gurov
for the EBU cruiserweight championship
. Haye easily knocked out Gurov with a single right hand in just 45 seconds.
In January 2006, Haye signed a three-year contract with former Lennox Lewis
promoter Frank Maloney
to further his world title ambitions. He successfully defended his EBU title against Ismail Abdoul and future world champion Giacobbe Fragomeni
, with the latter fight being a WBC eliminator.
Haye's cameo at heavyweight in April 2007 resulted in an impressive first-round KO win over Polish fighter Tomasz Bonin
, who at the time was ranked No. 11 by the WBC and had only one loss, against Audley Harrison.
, & The Ring cruiserweight titles. Haye defeated Mormeck by knockout in the seventh round, despite Haye being knocked down by Mormeck in the fourth. The victory confirmed Haye's arrival as a genuine world class fighter.
The Mormeck fight was expected to be Haye's last fight in the cruiserweight division. Haye himself admitted that he struggles to make weight and feels that he can only box at "70 or 80 per cent" of his potential as a cruiserweight.
Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli
met in an all-British world cruiserweight title fight in the early hours of 9 March 2008. Haye's WBA, WBC, & The Ring titles were at stake, as was Maccarinelli's WBO
title. British trade paper Boxing News
produced a pullout special on the match. Widely billed as the biggest all-British bout since Chris Eubank
met Nigel Benn
. As both fighters are hard punchers with excellent KO records, a short fight was predicted. They were right, as Haye defeated Maccarinelli in the second round by TKO. Commenting on the fight and of the prospect of working again with Frank Warren
, Maccarinelli's promoter, Haye said, "We thank Frank for sacrificing Maccarinelli, but we'd feel immense guilt if we took any more free money from Sports Network. I have a hard enough time sleeping at night as it is."
at The O2 Arena
in London
on 15 November 2008, winning via TKO in the fifth round.
WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko
confirmed he would defend his title in a fight with Haye to take place on 20 June 2009, at Stamford Bridge
in London. Instead, his younger brother, WBO, IBO
& IBF
heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko
agreed to fight Haye the same date in Gelsenkirchen
, Germany
. Haye pulled out of the fight claiming a back injury.
, Nuremberg, Germany. Haye's trainer Adam Booth claimed it was a fight that Valuev wanted; it was billed as David and Goliath. Haye weighed in at 217 pounds, almost 100 lbs less than his opponent. Haye said about Valuev: "He is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I have watched Lord of the Rings
and films with strange looking people, but for a human being to look like he does is pretty shocking."
Haye beat Valuev in a reserved display of accuracy and efficiency, countering Valuev's misses, jabbing and circling his much larger opponent. Haye came close to knocking down Valuev in the final round with a hard left hand, which made Valuev stumble. Haye won with scores of 114–114 (ITA), 116–112 (USA) and 116–112 (ESP). Haye is the first and currently only boxer in the history of the sport to be seven stone or more lighter than an opponent in a World title fight and still come out victorious.
On 3 April 2010 Haye defeated John Ruiz
in his first WBA title defence at the Manchester Evening News Arena
by TKO in the ninth round after knocking him down four times during the fight excluding a point deduction for hitting Ruiz on the back of his head in round one. This was only the second time Ruiz has been stopped, after being knocked out in round one by David Tua
fourteen years prior to facing David Haye. After the fight, Haye immediately called on both Klitschko brothers, after claiming their recent challengers Eddie Chambers
and Chris Arreola
were "a disgrace to boxing."
It was confirmed on 7 September 2010 that Haye would fight Audley Harrison
on 13 November 2010 at the M.E.N. Arena
. The press conference for the bout became heated, leading to the two fighters swearing at each other on live television. On 13 November 2010, Haye defeated Harrison with one minute, seven seconds remaining of the third round by TKO
. Southpaw Harrison landed one jab during the entire fight. He staggered to his feet after being knocked down, only for Haye to immediately pounce right back on him, hitting him with another flurry of punches. The referee intervened and ended the bout.
Haye's plans to unify the heavyweight division took a major setback in January 2011 when it was revealed that Tomas Adamek would fight one of the Klitschko brothers in September 2011, before his planned retirement in October of that year. However, in April 2011, it was announced that Haye and Wladimir Klitschko had agreed to meet at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg on 2 July 2011.
versus David Haye was a heavyweight unification fight for the WBA
, WBO
, IBF
, IBO
and The Ring heavyweight titles, the fight taking place at the Imtech Arena, Hamburg
, Germany
on 2 July 2011 This was the only heavyweight unification fight since Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov
fought back in 2008. It was then when Wladimir Klitschko beat Ibragimov and added his WBO
title to his IBF
title. Klitschko defeated Haye by a unanimous decision to become the unified WBA Super, IBF, WBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion. The official scores were: 118-108, 117-109 and 116-110, which were all in favour of Klitschko.
Haye has had a long standing plan to retire early from the sport. After the Harrison fight Haye said his plans to retire before he is 31 had not altered, saying "I will have achieved what I wanted to achieve – undisputed cruiserweight champion, unify the heavyweight division and then call it a day." In December 2010, during the negotiations to fight Wladimir Klitschko, Haye said if the fight did not happen, "I'll just have to accept that becoming the WBA champion was enough and move on with my life. That'll be 20 years of getting punched in the face, which is a long enough time. I set my goals and achieved them so unifying the titles is the cherry on the cake but if it doesn't happen it wasn't meant to be and I've just got to get on with my life".
on March 3, 2012.
, Northern Cyprus and he has worn the Northern Cyprus flag on his shorts alongside the Flag of St. George and the Union Flag
in the past. David Haye was awarded with the citizenship of North Cyprus due to his contributions to the North Cyprus. Haye is married and has a son called Cassius, named after Cassius Clay. He supports London football team Millwall
.
On 20 October 2010, he was awarded an honourary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University
, at the graduation ceremony in the Cambridge Corn Exchange. Haye's successful defences of his title against Ruiz and Harrison saw Haye be selected for the final 10 shortlist for the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
.
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Loss||25–2||align=left|
Wladimir Klitschko
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||25–1||align=left|
Audley Harrison
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||24–1||align=left|
John Ruiz
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||23–1||align=left|
Nikolai Valuev
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||22–1||align=left| Monte Barrett
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||21–1||align=left| Enzo Maccarinelli
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||20–1||align=left|
Jean-Marc Mormeck
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||19–1||align=left|
Tomasz Bonin
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||18–1||align=left|
Giacobbe Fragomeni
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||17–1||align=left|
Ismail Abdoul
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||16–1||align=left|
Lasse Johansen
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||15–1||align=left| Alexander Gurov
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||14–1||align=left| Vincenzo Rossitto
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||13–1||align=left|
Glen Kelly
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||12–1||align=left| Garry Delaney
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||11–1||align=left|
Valeri Semiskur
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss||10–1||align=left| Carl Thompson
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||10–0||align=left| Arthur Williams
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||9–0||align=left|
Hastings Rasani
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||8–0||align=left| Tony Dowling
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||7–0||align=left| Lolenga Mock
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||6–0||align=left| Greg Scott-Briggs
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||5–0||align=left| Vance Winn
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||4–0||align=left| Phil Day
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||3–0||align=left| Roger Bowden
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||2–0||align=left| Saber Zairi
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win||1–0||align=left| Tony Booth
|||||
|align=left|
|align=left|
|-
|-
|-
Professional Boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, emerged in the early twentieth century as boxing gradually attained legitimacy and became a regulated, sanctioned sport. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse which is divided among the fighters and promoters as determined by contract...
,
Haye is the former WBA heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
champion. He is also the former unified world cruiserweight champion, holding the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
, WBC
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
, WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
, and The Ring
The Ring (magazine)
The Ring is an American boxing magazine that was first published in 1922 as a boxing and wrestling magazine. As the sporting legitimacy of professional wrestling came more into question, The Ring shifted to becoming exclusively a boxing oriented publication...
cruiserweight titles, and also the former European
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
cruiserweight champion.
Amateur
Haye started his ambition and passion for boxing at old-school boxing gym Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club in Lambeth, South London, where he quickly impressed and confidently won his first amateur bouts.In 1999, 18-year-old Haye participated at the world amateur championships in Houston, Texas, USA at light-heavyweight but was eliminated by experienced American Michael Simms
Michael Simms
Michael Simms Jr is an American boxer best known to win the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships at light heavyweight.-Amateur:...
early in the contest.
At the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships
2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The Men's 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, from June 3 to June 10. The competition was organised by the world governing body for amateur boxing International Boxing Association...
in Belfast, Northern Ireland he fought in the heavyweight 201 lb division where he beat world class Sebastian Köber
Sebastian Köber
Sebastian Köber is a German boxer, who won the Heavyweight bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia...
to reach the final where he gave Odlanier Solís
Odlanier Solis
Odlanier Solís Fonte is a Cuban professional boxer. He won the Olympic Gold medal in Athens 2004 and was a three time winner at the World Amateur Boxing Championships.-Amateur career:...
a standing eight count before being stopped by the Cuban in round three, and taking the silver medal.
Cruiserweight
Based in BermondseyBermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
, London, England, Haye turned professional in December 2002, aged 22, knocking out Tony Booth in two rounds.
In 2003 he won seven fights, two of which include the only fights Haye has fought in the United States. He won all by knockout, the most notable being a fourth round KO of Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
's Lolenga Mock, in which Haye had to come off the floor to win.
Haye's fights were regularly seen on the BBC
BBC Sport
BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC. It became a fully dedicated division of the BBC in 2000. It incorporates programmes such as Match of the Day, Grandstand , Test Match Special, Ski Sunday, Rugby Special and coverage of Formula One motor racing, MotoGP and the Wimbledon Tennis...
and his popularity began to grow in 2004, when he dispatched the 39-year-old ex-world champion "King" Arthur Williams
Arthur Williams (boxer)
Arthur "King" James Williams is a professional boxer .Williams became professional in 1989 and fell short in his first shot at a major championship title, a 1994 split-decision loss to Orlin Norris for the World Boxing Association Cruiserweight Title. Williams was knocked out in the third round...
in three rounds.
Later that year, in his eleventh pro fight, he fought 40-year-old former WBO champion Carl Thompson
Carl Thompson (boxer)
Carl Adrian Thompson is a retired British boxer and the former WBO, European, & British cruiserweight champion.- Professional boxing career :...
in a dramatic "youth vs experience" matchup. Haye started fast and alarmingly caught Thompson with constant barrages of power punches, coming close to forcing a stoppage at numerous points over the first few rounds.
Gradually, despite the early punishment he received, Thompson warmed up and worked his way into the fight whilst Haye seemed to tire and slow down. Thompson began to pressure Haye and knocked Haye down with a chopping right hand in round 5. With seven seconds left in the round, Thompson landed two jabs followed by a flush right hand which rocked a very tired Haye, and forced Haye's corner to throw in the towel.
Haye returned against Estonian Valery Semishkur, winning by TKO in round 1, then defeated Garry Delaney by a third round TKO. Following two more fights against Glen Kelly and Vincenzo Rossitto, Haye faced Alexander Gurov
Alexander Gurov (boxer)
Alexander Gurov is a Ukrainian boxer and current WBO Asia-Pacific cruiserweight champion. He formerly held the EBU cruiserweight boxing title.Gurov was defeated in December 2005 by David Haye losing the EBU European title in just 45 seconds....
for the EBU cruiserweight championship
European Boxing Union
The European Boxing Union is an organization that oversees competition in that sport over the continent of Europe.-History:The EBU started life as the International Boxing Union in Paris in 1910...
. Haye easily knocked out Gurov with a single right hand in just 45 seconds.
In January 2006, Haye signed a three-year contract with former Lennox Lewis
Lennox Lewis
Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE is a retired boxer and the most recent British undisputed world heavyweight champion. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship...
promoter Frank Maloney
Frank Maloney
Frank Maloney is a boxing manager and promoter and United Kingdom Independence Party politician. He is most famous for managing Lennox Lewis to the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship of the World.-Early life:...
to further his world title ambitions. He successfully defended his EBU title against Ismail Abdoul and future world champion Giacobbe Fragomeni
Giacobbe Fragomeni
Giacobbe Fragomeni is a Cruiserweight boxer from Italy and former WBC champion of the world. As an amateur he won the 1998 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Minsk at heavyweight 201 lbs/91 kg limit....
, with the latter fight being a WBC eliminator.
Haye's cameo at heavyweight in April 2007 resulted in an impressive first-round KO win over Polish fighter Tomasz Bonin
Tomasz Bonin
Tomasz "The Polish Hammer" Bonin is a Polish heavyweight boxer.-Career:Bonin has a professional record of 41-3 but was KO'd twice when stepping up...
, who at the time was ranked No. 11 by the WBC and had only one loss, against Audley Harrison.
World cruiserweight champion
Haye challenged Jean-Marc Mormeck on 10 November 2007 for the WBA, WBCWorld Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...
, & The Ring cruiserweight titles. Haye defeated Mormeck by knockout in the seventh round, despite Haye being knocked down by Mormeck in the fourth. The victory confirmed Haye's arrival as a genuine world class fighter.
The Mormeck fight was expected to be Haye's last fight in the cruiserweight division. Haye himself admitted that he struggles to make weight and feels that he can only box at "70 or 80 per cent" of his potential as a cruiserweight.
Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli
Enzo Maccarinelli
Enzo Maccarinelli is a Welsh professional boxer who fights in the light heavyweight division. He is a former World Boxing Organization cruiserweight title holder and also held the European title at that weight limit...
met in an all-British world cruiserweight title fight in the early hours of 9 March 2008. Haye's WBA, WBC, & The Ring titles were at stake, as was Maccarinelli's WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
title. British trade paper Boxing News
Boxing News
Boxing News is the longest-running boxing magazine still in publication, dating back to 1909. Owned by Newsquest Specialist Media .-History:Boxing News was founded in 1909 by original editor John Murray as, simply, Boxing...
produced a pullout special on the match. Widely billed as the biggest all-British bout since Chris Eubank
Chris Eubank
Chris Eubank, Lord of the Manor of Brighton is a retired British boxer who held world titles at middleweight and super middleweight...
met Nigel Benn
Nigel Benn
Nigel Benn , known as "The Dark Destroyer", is a British former boxer who held world titles in the middleweight and super middleweight divisions....
. As both fighters are hard punchers with excellent KO records, a short fight was predicted. They were right, as Haye defeated Maccarinelli in the second round by TKO. Commenting on the fight and of the prospect of working again with Frank Warren
Frank Warren (promoter)
Frank Darren Warren is an English boxing manager and promoter.-Early life and early career:The son of a bookmaker, Warren trained as a solicitor's clerk with J Tickle & Co on Southampton Row in London....
, Maccarinelli's promoter, Haye said, "We thank Frank for sacrificing Maccarinelli, but we'd feel immense guilt if we took any more free money from Sports Network. I have a hard enough time sleeping at night as it is."
Heavyweight
Haye described the victory over Maccarinelli as "the final piece" in his cruiserweight jigsaw. Haye then defeated heavyweight Monte BarrettMonte Barrett
Monte Barrett is an American professional heavyweight boxer. He was regarded by many as a tough gatekeeper and was a former WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion and current WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion...
at The O2 Arena
The O2 arena (London)
The O2 Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in the centre of The O2, a large entertainment complex on the Greenwich peninsula in London, England.With a capacity of up to 20,000 depending on the event, it is second largest...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 15 November 2008, winning via TKO in the fifth round.
WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
confirmed he would defend his title in a fight with Haye to take place on 20 June 2009, at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
in London. Instead, his younger brother, WBO, IBO
International Boxing Organization
The International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...
& IBF
IBF
IBF may refer to:*International Boxing Federation is one of several boxing organisations* International Bandy Federation former name of Federation of International Bandy , an international governing body for bandy...
heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
agreed to fight Haye the same date in Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Haye pulled out of the fight claiming a back injury.
WBA heavyweight champion
Haye then confirmed that he would meet the WBA champion Nikolay Valuev on 7 November 2009 in the Nuremberg ArenaNuremberg Arena
Nuremberg Arena is an arena in Nuremberg, Germany. Nuremberg Arena opened in 2001 and holds up to 6,500 people.It is used for ice hockey, basketball and concerts.Since 2005, it is also called Arena Nürnberger Versicherung....
, Nuremberg, Germany. Haye's trainer Adam Booth claimed it was a fight that Valuev wanted; it was billed as David and Goliath. Haye weighed in at 217 pounds, almost 100 lbs less than his opponent. Haye said about Valuev: "He is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. I have watched Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
and films with strange looking people, but for a human being to look like he does is pretty shocking."
Haye beat Valuev in a reserved display of accuracy and efficiency, countering Valuev's misses, jabbing and circling his much larger opponent. Haye came close to knocking down Valuev in the final round with a hard left hand, which made Valuev stumble. Haye won with scores of 114–114 (ITA), 116–112 (USA) and 116–112 (ESP). Haye is the first and currently only boxer in the history of the sport to be seven stone or more lighter than an opponent in a World title fight and still come out victorious.
On 3 April 2010 Haye defeated John Ruiz
John Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
in his first WBA title defence at the Manchester Evening News Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
by TKO in the ninth round after knocking him down four times during the fight excluding a point deduction for hitting Ruiz on the back of his head in round one. This was only the second time Ruiz has been stopped, after being knocked out in round one by David Tua
David Tua
David "Tuamanator" Tua is a New Zealand professional heavyweight boxer, fighting out of South Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.He is a former WBO Asia Pacific and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion....
fourteen years prior to facing David Haye. After the fight, Haye immediately called on both Klitschko brothers, after claiming their recent challengers Eddie Chambers
Eddie Chambers
Edward "Eddie" Chambers is an American heavyweight boxer fighting out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Professional career:Eddie started boxing professionally in 2000 at the age of 18...
and Chris Arreola
Chris Arreola
Cristobal Arreola is a Mexican-American professional Heavyweight boxer. Arreola is the former NABF, WBC Continental Americas, and current WBC FECOMBOX Heavyweight Champion. Chris is promoted by Goossen Tutor and trained by Henry Ramírez....
were "a disgrace to boxing."
It was confirmed on 7 September 2010 that Haye would fight Audley Harrison
Audley Harrison
Audley Harrison is a British professional boxer from Harlesden, England who fights in the heavyweight division. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney he became the first British fighter to win an Olympic gold medal in the superheavyweight division. He stands and usually weighs around .Harrison turned...
on 13 November 2010 at the M.E.N. Arena
Manchester Evening News Arena
The Manchester Evening News Arena is an indoor arena situated in Manchester, England. It is adjacent to Manchester Victoria station near Corporation Street...
. The press conference for the bout became heated, leading to the two fighters swearing at each other on live television. On 13 November 2010, Haye defeated Harrison with one minute, seven seconds remaining of the third round by TKO
TKO
-In game, music and film:* Three Kingdoms Online, a browser based strategy game* "TKO" , an episode of Babylon 5* "T.K.O. ", a song from Elvis Costello's Punch the Clock album* "TKO", a song from Le Tigre's This Island...
. Southpaw Harrison landed one jab during the entire fight. He staggered to his feet after being knocked down, only for Haye to immediately pounce right back on him, hitting him with another flurry of punches. The referee intervened and ended the bout.
Haye's plans to unify the heavyweight division took a major setback in January 2011 when it was revealed that Tomas Adamek would fight one of the Klitschko brothers in September 2011, before his planned retirement in October of that year. However, in April 2011, it was announced that Haye and Wladimir Klitschko had agreed to meet at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg on 2 July 2011.
Wladimir Klitschko vs David Haye
Wladimir KlitschkoWladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
versus David Haye was a heavyweight unification fight for the WBA
World Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association is a boxing organization that sanctions official matches, and awards the WBA world championship title at the professional level. It was previously known as the National Boxing Association before changing its name in 1962...
, WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
, IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
, IBO
International Boxing Organization
The International Boxing Organization is a for-profit organization that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and subordinate championships.- Origins :...
and The Ring heavyweight titles, the fight taking place at the Imtech Arena, Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
on 2 July 2011 This was the only heavyweight unification fight since Wladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov
Sultan Ibragimov
Sultan-Ahmed Magomedsalihovich Ibragimov, is a retired professional boxer and a former WBO heavyweight champion. He is of Avar Dagestani Muslim descent...
fought back in 2008. It was then when Wladimir Klitschko beat Ibragimov and added his WBO
World Boxing Organization
The World Boxing Organization is a sanctioning organization currently recognizing professional boxing world champions. The organization is recognized as one of the four major world championship groups by the IBHOF alongside the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Council and the...
title to his IBF
International Boxing Federation
The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...
title. Klitschko defeated Haye by a unanimous decision to become the unified WBA Super, IBF, WBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion. The official scores were: 118-108, 117-109 and 116-110, which were all in favour of Klitschko.
Retirement
BBBC chief Robert Smith told The Sun on October 11, 2011 that David Haye had informed him that he would not be not renewing his boxing licence therefore retiring from the sport.Haye has had a long standing plan to retire early from the sport. After the Harrison fight Haye said his plans to retire before he is 31 had not altered, saying "I will have achieved what I wanted to achieve – undisputed cruiserweight champion, unify the heavyweight division and then call it a day." In December 2010, during the negotiations to fight Wladimir Klitschko, Haye said if the fight did not happen, "I'll just have to accept that becoming the WBA champion was enough and move on with my life. That'll be 20 years of getting punched in the face, which is a long enough time. I set my goals and achieved them so unifying the titles is the cherry on the cake but if it doesn't happen it wasn't meant to be and I've just got to get on with my life".
Vitali Klitschko vs David Haye
Haye has put retirement on hold and is currently in negotiations for a possible bout with current WBC Heavyweight title holder Vitali KlitschkoVitali Klitschko
Vitaliy Volodymyrovych Klychko is a Ukrainian professional heavyweight boxer and the current WBC heavyweight champion. He is a leader of the political party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a member of the Ukrainian delegation to the Congress of the Council of Europe. He previously...
on March 3, 2012.
Personal information
Haye attended Bacon's College in Rotherhithe, South East London. His training camp is based in KyreniaKyrenia
Kyrenia is a town on the northern coast of Cyprus, noted for its historic harbour and castle. Internationally recognised as part of the Republic of Cyprus, Kyrenia has been under Turkish control since the Turkish invasion of Cyprus in 1974...
, Northern Cyprus and he has worn the Northern Cyprus flag on his shorts alongside the Flag of St. George and the Union Flag
Union Flag
The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...
in the past. David Haye was awarded with the citizenship of North Cyprus due to his contributions to the North Cyprus. Haye is married and has a son called Cassius, named after Cassius Clay. He supports London football team Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
.
On 20 October 2010, he was awarded an honourary doctorate from Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University
Anglia Ruskin University is one of the largest universities in Eastern England, United Kingdom, with a total student population of around 30,000.-History:...
, at the graduation ceremony in the Cambridge Corn Exchange. Haye's successful defences of his title against Ruiz and Harrison saw Haye be selected for the final 10 shortlist for the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award
The 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award, held on 19 December, was the 57th presentation of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards. Awarded annually by the British Broadcasting Corporation , the main titular award honours an individual's British sporting achievement over the past...
.
Professional boxing record
| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|25 Wins (23 Knockouts), 2 Defeats, 0 Draws|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
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|Loss||25–2||align=left|
Wladimir KlitschkoWladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer. Klitschko is the WBA , IBF, WBO Super, IBO & Ring Magazine Champion. His older brother Vitali Klitschko is the current WBC champion...
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Audley HarrisonAudley Harrison
Audley Harrison is a British professional boxer from Harlesden, England who fights in the heavyweight division. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney he became the first British fighter to win an Olympic gold medal in the superheavyweight division. He stands and usually weighs around .Harrison turned...
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|Win||24–1||align=left|
John RuizJohn Ruiz
John "The Quietman" Ruiz , is a former American professional boxer. Ruiz is the first Latino heavyweight champion and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. After a professional career spanning over 18 years, Ruiz officially announced his retirement from the sport at a press conference on April...
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|Win||23–1||align=left|
Nikolai ValuevNikolai Valuev
Nikolai Sergeyevich Valuev or Valuyev is a retired professional boxer and former two-time WBA heavyweight champion. In his most recent fight , he lost the title to David Haye via 12-round majority decision...
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|Win||22–1||align=left|
Monte BarrettMonte Barrett
Monte Barrett is an American professional heavyweight boxer. He was regarded by many as a tough gatekeeper and was a former WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion and current WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion...
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|Win||21–1||align=left|
Enzo MaccarinelliEnzo Maccarinelli
Enzo Maccarinelli is a Welsh professional boxer who fights in the light heavyweight division. He is a former World Boxing Organization cruiserweight title holder and also held the European title at that weight limit...
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Jean-Marc Mormeck|||||
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|Win||19–1||align=left|
Tomasz BoninTomasz Bonin
Tomasz "The Polish Hammer" Bonin is a Polish heavyweight boxer.-Career:Bonin has a professional record of 41-3 but was KO'd twice when stepping up...
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|Win||18–1||align=left|
Giacobbe FragomeniGiacobbe Fragomeni
Giacobbe Fragomeni is a Cruiserweight boxer from Italy and former WBC champion of the world. As an amateur he won the 1998 European Amateur Boxing Championships in Minsk at heavyweight 201 lbs/91 kg limit....
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|Win||17–1||align=left|
Ismail Abdoul|||||
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Lasse Johansen|||||
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|Win||15–1||align=left|
Alexander GurovAlexander Gurov (boxer)
Alexander Gurov is a Ukrainian boxer and current WBO Asia-Pacific cruiserweight champion. He formerly held the EBU cruiserweight boxing title.Gurov was defeated in December 2005 by David Haye losing the EBU European title in just 45 seconds....
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|Win||14–1||align=left|
Vincenzo Rossitto|||||
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|Win||13–1||align=left|
Glen Kelly|||||
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|Win||12–1||align=left|
Garry Delaney|||||
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Valeri Semiskur|||||
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Carl ThompsonCarl Thompson (boxer)
Carl Adrian Thompson is a retired British boxer and the former WBO, European, & British cruiserweight champion.- Professional boxing career :...
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|Win||10–0||align=left|
Arthur WilliamsArthur Williams (boxer)
Arthur "King" James Williams is a professional boxer .Williams became professional in 1989 and fell short in his first shot at a major championship title, a 1994 split-decision loss to Orlin Norris for the World Boxing Association Cruiserweight Title. Williams was knocked out in the third round...
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|Win||9–0||align=left|
Hastings RasaniHastings Rasani
Hastings Rasani is a Zimbabwean light heavyweight boxer based in Birmingham, England. He is a journeyman fighter who once held the Zimbabwean national title...
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Tony Dowling|||||
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|Win||7–0||align=left|
Lolenga Mock|||||
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|Win||6–0||align=left|
Greg Scott-Briggs|||||
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Vance Winn|||||
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Phil Day|||||
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Roger Bowden|||||
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Saber Zairi|||||
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Tony Booth|||||
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External links
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