David Haye to announce retirement

[zyberianwarrior]

Former heavyweight champion Haye poised to retire | Reuters

(Reuters) - Former world heavyweight champion David Haye is poised to retire from the sport after the British Boxing Board of Control said on Tuesday the Briton was not renewing his license.
Haye, who has long maintained he would not fight beyond his 31st birthday, which falls on Thursday, lost his WBA world title on points to Vladimir Klitschko in a unification bout in his last fight in July.
"I can confirm that Mr. Haye is not renewing his professional boxer's license," Board general secretary Robert Smith told Reuters.
The retirement plans were questioned by the Klitschko camp with promoter Bernd Boente saying Haye's manager Adam Booth had told him "five minutes ago" the Briton would return to the ring if there was a fight against either of the Klitschko brothers.
"The option is still there. It really depends only on the business case," he told Sky Sports News. "We are in constant contact, we are still awaiting some numbers from British TV and then we'll see if the business case is realistic."
He said Vladimir's older brother Vitali, the WBC world heavyweight champion, was the most likely opponent and that if a fight was to take place it would be in February or March.
"A rematch (with Vladimir) makes no sense because there are no questions after the first fight, you can only promote a fight if there is a thrill," Boente said.
"Against Vitali it's a different thing, Vitali has a totally different style. Vitali said after the fight he wanted to finish what his brother didn't do, meaning knock out David Haye."
Haye, whose trash-talking before the July fight angered both Klitschkos, blamed the defeat on a broken toe and had suggested he would be prepared to postpone retirement if the Ukrainian agreed to a swift rematch.
That defeat was Haye's first in seven years and left his record at 25-2. Before joining the heavyweight division, Haye was the unified cruiserweight champion.
Haye's representatives were not immediately available for comment but local media reported the Briton was planning a news conference for Thursday.
The Klitschkos hold all the major championship belts in the division. The brothers have said they would not fight each other.


comments?

[Owen]

I don't think his license actually expires till December. After his farce against Vlad it might be an attempt for some press to get peoples minds off that performance. If he does retire. Then personally I think he'll comeback after the Klitschko's have retired. Make it a big comeback thing.

[Lee]

Not a big loss, I really wanted to like him since he is a brit, but to run his mouth like he did and then "fight" the way he did against Klitschko....meh.

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by Lee

Not a big loss, I really wanted to like him since he is a brit, but to run his mouth like he did and then "fight" the way he did against Klitschko....meh.

My feelings exactly.

I can't imagine anyone being willing to give him a big fight if he continues. Maybe he could draw a couple dozen punters if he fights here in Cleveland at the Slovenian Hall on some cold, rainy evening in November. On the undercard of some local kid's fight.

[Jackyle]

Originally Posted by Antonin

My feelings exactly.

I can't imagine anyone being willing to give him a big fight if he continues. Maybe he could draw a couple dozen punters if he fights here in Cleveland at the Slovenian Hall on some cold, rainy evening in November. On the undercard of some local kid's fight.

LOL, that was great! Totally agree, he should go away and stay away. I am really a very easy person to sway, and I almost always give a fighter the benefit of a stinker or whatever. Lets face it, its a tough sport. David Hay on the other hand was sooooooo full of ^%# that I would never pay to watch him fight or really care about anything he does.

[Mark42661]

David Haye was a world heavyweight champion?

[sepia warrior]

Haye is looking for one last big payday. If fighting Haye is the biggest money fight Vitali can get, the fight will be on. Haye will lose, probably by TKO, and live happily ever after counting his $$$$. Such is the sorry state of the heavyweight division.

[Cap]

It's really too bad because I believe Haye has the talent to be a major force in the heavyweight division. He just seems to lack the internal fire to be a true champion, a fault he shares with many other heavyweights who lack his skills.

Cap (Only 502 posts to go...)

[IceTea]

He had some physical abilities but was a one trick pony. If you allowed him to leap in and land punches, you were in trouble. A fighter that knows range and has decent movement, would always give him problems. He could bang for a smaller guy.

[Antonin]

Originally Posted by Jackyle

...I am really a very easy person to sway, and I almost always give a fighter the benefit of a stinker or whatever. Lets face it, its a tough sport. David Hay on the other hand was sooooooo full of ^%# that I would never pay to watch him fight or really care about anything he does.

Exactly. The guy just talked so much, and said such outrageous garbage, over an extended period of time and then got his chance and proved to be a massive dud.

I watched part of the fight on YouTube and found it to be pretty boring. I had no desire to watch the whole thing. To me, Haye looked intimidated. He looked and behaved like a man who was hoping to get a lucky shot. He didn't look like he had any kind of plan to win the fight or even put up a serious effort.

There was an old skit on Saturday Night Live starring the late, great Gilda Radner. She'd become outraged about something and would go on and on, shouting and working herself into a fist-waving storm of anger. And then somebody would tell her she'd got her basic premise all wrong. She would pause and then say meekly, "Never mind."

When I think of David Haye I think of that skit.