David Haye: The good, the bad and the ugly

OCTOBER 13th 2011 was the retirement date set by David Haye when he was a 10-year-old. He has stuck to that word, at the age of 31 Haye has hung up the gloves that momentarily brought excitement to the heavyweight division.

The ‘Hayemaker’ bowed out at the very top. He unified the cruiserweight division before going on to win a world heavyweight title despite his much smaller frame.

Haye didn’t achieve his final goal; the way he lost and the post-fight excuses have led to his career going out on a whimper. But he achieved what many U.S heavyweights couldn’t in only his second heavyweight fight- a world title. A country that has produced so many heavyweight greats have been missing for over a decade in the most historic division in boxing.

An impressive start to his boxing career saw Haye win his first 10 fights by the way of knockout. Haye couldn’t deliver on his promise as he lost out to Carl Thompson in an IBO title shot. Haye bounced back immediately and claimed the EBU belt from Alexander Gurov in 2005.

A trip to Paris awaited the Londoner to face Jean Marc Mormeck for the WBA and WBC titles. Haye had his toughest fight to date but came through the bout in dramatic fashion, climbing off the canvas in round four to win his first world title in round seven. The only thing left to do was to unify the cruiserweight division and that prospect arose when Enzo Maccarinelli came calling. The Bermondsey-boxer produced his most spectacular performance to add the WBO belt to his collection.

Haye made the leap into the heavyweight scene and successfully beat his first opponent in five rounds in the shape of Monte Barrett.
Many believe it was the confidence and the mouth of Haye that generated his opportunity of a world heavyweight title when met Nikolay Valuev. Despite his persistence in the pursuit of both Klitschkos, Haye knew only a world title would attract the two dominant brothers.

The former-world cruiserweight champion impressively overcame 7ft Valuev and even came close to knocking down the Russian. Haye went on to defend his WBA title against American John Ruiz before fighting, well throwing one punch, to defeat fellow Brit Audley Harrison.

It led to the fight that he will be remembered for. The super-clash was supposed to define the Hayemaker’s career but instead drew criticism from fans and the media. From how he approached the fight with his lewd comments and offensive t-shirts, to how he fought the fight- where he spent the most part on his knees where the pay-per-view fee for the fight could have been the same on a channel much higher in Sky’s TV listings.

Then came the toe, the reason most of the criticism emerged, if the excuse hadn’t been made slowly people would have realised how good a servant he was for British boxing much in the same way as Ricky Hatton. The un-classless act in the post-fight interviews will stick by him forever.

Haye should be celebrated for what he achieved and not ridiculed for what he didn’t. Haye may have been unable to unify the heavyweight division but he achieved where so many have failed.

Greg Grimes

@ggrimes10