Over an accomplished campaign, David Haye shared the ring with top fighters at both cruiser and heavyweight.
The former amateur standout won his first ten professional bouts by stoppage before suffering his own early night against veteran Carl Thompson. Haye bounced back from that first defeat, becoming a unified cruiserweight world champion in 2008 before moving up to heavyweight and winning the WBA belt against giant Nikolai Valuev.
Injuries began to take their toll on the explosive puncher and Haye hung up the gloves in 2018 after back-to-back losses against Tony Bellew.
Despite being in with powerful heavyweights such as Wladimir Klitschko and Derek Chisora, Haye has little doubt that the man who hit him hardest was Deontay Wilder in a sparring session. Speaking on X, he discussed sharing a ring with the former WBC Champ.
“Sparring with Wilder was a revelation in power and skill.
“Many years ago when Wilder was an up-and-coming prospect I sparred with him. By a mile, he is the biggest puncher I’ve been in the ring with and I can only judge that with big 16oz gloves on and the head guard … It’s a terrifying thought taking those bone-crushing right hands, and his left hook is no joke.”
Wilder was on a 32 fight knockout streak before being taken the distance by Bermaine Stiverne in 2015. When they rematched two years later, Stiverne was knocked out in brutal fashion. Many felt Wilder was unstoppable before Tyson Fury returned to the heavyweight scene, fighting the American to a draw in their first bout but scoring knockouts in the second and third.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ took a year out before showing the world that he was still a force to be reckoned with by stopping Robert Helenius in one round. However, more inactivity followed and he would lose his next two fights to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
The 39-year-old’s career is now on the ropes, but trainer Malik Scott has confirmed he will fight on and rediscover the killer instinct that made him so dangerous as a younger man.
