David Haye to donate 10 per cent of his next earnings to Nick Blackwell

[Robbie Barrett]

David Haye will continue his comeback into the boxing world against Kosovo-Albanian Arnold 'The Cobra' Gjergjaj on May 21 at London's O2 Arena - with a portion of his proceeds going to Nick Blackwell.
The bout will be Haye's second in five months after his swift knockout of Mark de Mori at the same venue on January 16.
The former two-weight world champion now turns his attentions to the 31-year-old Kosovo-Albanian who has amassed an impressive record of 29-0, with 21 of those wins coming via knockout.

During his press conference to announce the bout on Wednesday, Haye revealed that 10 per cent of ticket sales from his fight against Gjergjaj - which is expected to be televised on a freeview platform - will be donated to Blackwell.
Blackwell, 25, has been in an induced coma since collapsing at the end of Saturday's British middleweight title defeat by Chris Eubank Jr.
'Nick is only in that situation because he's so tough and is one of those boxers who goes out there and puts it on the line,' Haye said.
Haye returned to the ring in January after a three-and-a-half-year absence that was partly the result of a career-threatening shoulder injury by recording a first-round stoppage of De Mori.
And speaking ahead of his bout against the Switzerland-based Gjergjaj, who has only fought once outside there, Haye is relishing the prospect of getting back inside a ring once more.
Commenting on the fight, Haye said: 'I'm so happy to be back in the ring so soon. I said I wanted to fight regularly and that's exactly what I'm doing.
'Every two to three months I want to be knocking somebody out and working my way back into title contention.
'Fighting a big heavyweight like 'The Cobra' has really got my juices flowing, taking a unbeaten fighters '0' from him always makes the victory that much sweeter. Expect another explosive knock out!
'The reaction to the first Haye Day event was incredible with a sell-out crowd at The O2, music acts, A-List guests like Idris Elba and Benedict Cumberbatch, and let's not forget breaking TV viewing records with a 3.2million peak audience on Dave.
'May's Haye Day will be even bigger and better. We've listened to fans and have a stronger undercard and even bigger musical acts to provide plenty of entertainment before my ring walk.'
Gjergjaj, who has as sparred with Haye conqueror Wladimir Klitschko, has warned his British rival that he should not be underestimated.
'This is obviously the biggest fight of my life and it is an opportunity I will not waste,' he said.
Fighting in a huge arena against a former world heavyweight champion is massive motivation for me and gives me a chance to prove my skills to the boxing world.'
'I respect ‘The Hayemaker’ - he was a very good fighter 5 years ago - but his time is over and I’m coming to win. I’m warning David Haye that he should not underestimate me - I'm unbeaten and I intend to stay that way.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/box...#ixzz44NmrU0Lb

[ukbox]

Im not a fan of haye anymore, if this is legit it's a great gesture. I can't help think it's just Haye's pr not missing a beat.
If legit then begrudgingly give the toebreaker some respect

[removed]

Typical PR from Haye, I can't knock him though, a nice gesture.


Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Android

[deathofaclown]

I can't help think it's just Haye's pr not missing a beat.

I like Haye but this is probably about right. If he was donating to a named charity, i could understand announcing it as it gives attention to that charity and make people aware.

If it's a personal donation, i feel that stuff should be done more privately if it's out of the goodness of your heart.

I'm not knocking Haye's gesture, he doesn't have to do it and 10% is probably still a decent sum of money, So fair play to him still. I'm not just talking about him, it's just funny how a lot of celebrities have to have everybody know what they're doing to help people.

My mother works in a children's hospital that sometimes have celebrities come in to see the kids. A lot of the time they won't allow camera's as some kids don't wish to be filmed and the numbers of celebrities that then refuse to do it because their camera can't be there is astonishing.

[removed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ukbox

I can't help think it's just Haye's pr not missing a beat.


I like Haye but this is probably about right. If he was donating to a named charity, i could understand announcing it as it gives attention to that charity and make people aware.

If it's a personal donation, i feel that stuff should be done more privately if it's out of the goodness of your heart.

I'm not knocking Haye's gesture, he doesn't have to do it and 10% is probably still a decent sum of money, So fair play to him still. I'm not just talking about him, it's just funny how a lot of celebrities have to have everybody know what they're doing to help people.

My mother works in a children's hospital that sometimes have celebrities come in to see the kids. A lot of the time they won't allow camera's as some kids don't wish to be filmed and the numbers of celebrities that then refuse to do it because their camera can't be there is astonishing.

Haye is rebranding himself as the good guy of British boxing, presumably to combat the bad boy tactics of Tyson Fury. Maybe he's seen how well Joshua is doing without trash talking and is following his lead. Everyone knows who is now, so he doesn't need to act the bad boy to get in the papers.



Posted from Boxingscene.com App for Android

[Butt stuff]

I like Haye but this is probably about right. If he was donating to a named charity, i could understand announcing it as it gives attention to that charity and make people aware.

If it's a personal donation, i feel that stuff should be done more privately if it's out of the goodness of your heart.

I'm not knocking Haye's gesture, he doesn't have to do it and 10% is probably still a decent sum of money, So fair play to him still. I'm not just talking about him, it's just funny how a lot of celebrities have to have everybody know what they're doing to help people.

My mother works in a children's hospital that sometimes have celebrities come in to see the kids. A lot of the time they won't allow camera's as some kids don't wish to be filmed and the numbers of celebrities that then refuse to do it because their camera can't be there is astonishing.

Whenever companies or celebrities do this I just assume it's for tax relief. My bosses do the same, one just donated £10k just so that he could get to meet an associate of the charity with which he stuck a deal that was worth more than the initial £10K. Makes me a bit sick to my stomach.

Hard not to be cynical with someone like Haye, with it being a private donation it's a great thing to do and I love the fact that he's done it. But at the same time I see Haye as a bit of a sociopath who couldn't really give a F about anyone else and is just using it as PR.

[Weltschmerz]

Should donate more if this is his choice...