Tweet
And he's gone....
Until next year?
-
And he's gone....
Until next year?
-
-
Comment
-
hollywood is waiting for this clown!!!Comment
-
From Sky Sports today:
David Haye has, as expected, confirmed his retirement from boxing on his 31st birthday.
The former WBA heavyweight champion has fulfilled his long-standing promise to hang up his gloves on October 13, 2011, something he re-iterated he would do after losing his belt to Wladimir Klitschko back in July.
"It would have been great to have beaten Wladimir Klitschko in July to unify the world heavyweight titles, but, while I've always strived for perfection, it sometimes doesn't work out that way in life."
The British Boxing Board of Control announced earlier this week that Haye had indicated he would not seek to renew his licence in December.
That, though, had not stopped speculation growing that the Brit could be tempted to delay his retirement to fight Vitali Klitschko early in 2012.
Klitschko's manager Bernd Boente claimed that talks were already underway for the bout to take place next February, and Haye admits he did consider carrying on so he could face the Ukrainian.
However, he has stuck to his guns and hung up his gloves, meaning he finishes with a 25-2 record as a professional.
"Vitali Klitschko did show an interest in sharing the ring with me in 2012, but since that initial declaration we have heard the wrong kind of noises from Team Klitschko which has left me thinking there is little chance of the fight ever coming to fruitition," Haye said in a statement.
"I would have very much enjoyed the idea of putting my retirement on hold for six months and going in against another champion that no-one gave me a chance of beating.
"Ultimately though Team Klitschko are a business and they rarely take on tough opposition, unless they are forced to."
After claiming a silver medal at the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships, Haye turned pro the following year at cruiserweight and won his first 10 bouts.
His perfect record eventually came to an end when he was stopped by Carl Thompson, though he recovered from the loss to go on rule Europe.
He became a world champion for the first time with a sensational victory over WBC title-holder Jean Marc Mormeck in 2007, Haye stopping the Frenchman in the seventh having been knocked down himself in the fourth, and then added the WBO strap by knocking out Enzo Maccarinelli inside two rounds.
A move up to heavyweight followed and after a proposed showdown with Vitali Klitschko had to be cancelled due to injury, he became WBA champion by out-pointing giant Russian Nikolai Valuev on German soil in 2009.
Haye had successful defences against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison before losing his grip on the title to Wladimir Klitschko, a reverse that the beaten champion blamed on a broken little toe.
"All in all, I have achieved nearly everything I could have hoped to achieve at this point in my professional boxing life," Haye said in the two-page statement.
"It would have been great to have beaten Wladimir Klitschko in July to unify the world heavyweight titles, but, while I've always strived for perfection, it sometimes doesn't work out that way in life.
"Aside from the loss to Wladimir, I am proud of everything I have achieved as both a cruiserweight and heavyweight and truly hope that the boxing fans and media will remember and view my overall career achievements in the right context.
"Yes, I was outspoken and controversial in the lead up to many fights, but I truly believe the hype and drama I brought to the ring - especially as a heavyweight - helped create major pay-per-view happenings and also brought boxing back to mainstream attention, if only for a short period of time."Comment
Comment