David Haye turns 40

[Onamastus]

Can't believe the Hayemaker has turned 40 today. Can still remember him as a young amateur. I was impressed with the cruiser portion of his career, and had high, high hopes for him as a heavyweight. Hopes that I don't think were unreasonable, given his natural talent and punching power. For some reason, the cynical nature of those circus-like heavyweight fights tend to overshadow in my mind the earlier accomplishments. And his little toe might well be the all-time worst excuse for a loss by a fighting man.

I wish I didn't look back on one of Britain's more successful boxers with such disappointment, but I do. What do you make of him?

[littlepug]

Had a decent career, the Mormeck fight was a great result as was his unification with Enzo which was seen as a 50/50 fight at the time and I know a lot don’t like it but the Valuev fight was another good result, what your supposed to do with a guy that size is anyone’s guess, letting your hands go would be pointless so I think he played it well. Could’ve done better but overall a career to be proud of.

[coneye]

Was a great cruiserweight , but the rest of his carreer , more of a circus show , He done well out of boxing and did'nt get hurt so thats the main thing

[coghaugen11]

He didn't actually have many fights

[emallini]

Great career

[DrDuke]

He was entertaining.

His cruiserweight achievements were quite impressive, he's a one of the best cruiserweights ever. I'd say, he is #3, after Holy and Usyk.

However, despite his not fully realized potential at the HW, he had a memorable career there too. I was happy, when he sent a one of the most disgraceful HW champions back to the circus and whooped his rival afterwards, sending him to the retirement as well.

I was rooting for Haye against Klitschko and was upset, after he lost in a one-sided fashion.

His beef with was Chisora fun to watch, as well as the fight itself. It was a one of the best HW fights of the previous decade.

Haye was an excellent boxer with solid skills, great speed and elusiveness. He only was fragile, that's why his career was so short.

[dookus]

Jesus, the time flies. It's funny the day you realise you've now witnessed the whole careers of generations of fighters.

I disliked his heavyweight career for a long time, but being a few years older now I appreciate why he did what he did. He clearly values his brains. Maybe sometime after light-hitting super-middleweight Lolenga Mock scrambled his legs he realised how dangerous mixing with the big men would be to his health and tried to maximize his earnings without hanging around too long.

That doesn't mean I liked his antics then, nor do I like them now, but I guess that's why he had to try and stand out one way or the other.

Like coneye said, he managed to make plenty without too much damage, and in boxing that's rare enough that you have to respect it.

[high tower 1]

Doesn’t know much about black history month according to Paul Dempsey.

[margaret thatcher]

Nice career, agree a lot of natural talent.

He got hyped to the gills back before the Wlad fight, there was real momentum and belief in him being the one to 'save' the hw dvision. like yuuuge, the hype and energy behind him was massive. it was a fun time

[Noxy]

Haye 40! Makes me feel old that. He had a pretty good career. Injuries were hard on him though. It’s a pity the Fury fight never happened.

[Gnome]

I've warmed to him over the years! Great career. Also, the last person to hold the WBA belt and be a real world champion before it stupidly became the regular belt after he fought for the "Super WBA" title v Wlad.

[Steveh583]

He was entertaining.

His cruiserweight achievements were quite impressive, he's a one of the best cruiserweights ever. I'd say, he is #3, after Holy and Usyk.

I’d have to put qawi above him too.

[Deserter]

Great talent and while he achieved a lot at cruiser, i think he underperformed as a heavyweight - combination of injury and the seduction of becoming a 'personality'. Good-looking guy and charismatic, so you can see how it happened, but as soon as he started making noises about becoming a Hollywood star (https://www.dailystar.co.uk/sport/boxin ... r-18831630) while still an active boxer, that was an alarm bell for me.
Most have been difficult for him to see Joshua's ascent to become the darling of British boxing while he struggled with injury and losing to the likes of Bellew. I went to the Bellew rematch and watching the post-fight scenes, with the media swarming around Bellew while Haye made the long walk to the changing rooms knowing he was done, was a reminder of how tough this game can be, physically and mentally.
The one thing I'll give him credit for is that he had proper guts - was completely prepared to go out on his shield against Bellew when many others would have looked for an easier way out...

[dbf]

When I read Making Haye almost 10 years ago, I really related to it as I, like the author had been captivated by Haye at the 2001 worlds. The to watch his pro career start out on the BBC, losing to Thompson, having those European level/title scraps on Sky, to winning the unified titles on Setanta. It was a great run. I was at the 02 for the Maccarenelli fight, and really hoped he would topple Wlad. I kind of lost interest in him after that loss, I was so disappointed in his performance against Klitschko.

The Chisora fight was fun, and his last great performance. Sad to watch against Bellew, especially as I'm really not a Bellew fan. But as someone said previously. He went out on his shield both times, which kind of made up for the Wlad loss for me.

I really admired him when I was in my early 20's and he was probably my favorite British boxer at the time. But when I met him for the first time in 2013 (interviewed him for a website around the time of the first attempted Fury fight) I was disappointed. Don't meet your heroes I guess. Naz was actually my hero though!

[Noxy]

When I read Making Haye almost 10 years ago, I really related to it as I, like the author had been captivated by Haye at the 2001 worlds. The to watch his pro career start out on the BBC, losing to Thompson, having those European level/title scraps on Sky, to winning the unified titles on Setanta. It was a great run. I was at the 02 for the Maccarenelli fight, and really hoped he would topple Wlad. I kind of lost interest in him after that loss, I was so disappointed in his performance against Klitschko.

The Chisora fight was fun, and his last great performance. Sad to watch against Bellew, especially as I'm really not a Bellew fan. But as someone said previously. He went out on his shield both times, which kind of made up for the Wlad loss for me.

I really admired him when I was in my early 20's and he was probably my favorite British boxer at the time. But when I met him for the first time in 2013 (interviewed him for a website around the time of the first attempted Fury fight) I was disappointed. Don't meet your heroes I guess. Naz was actually my hero though!

Why were you disappointed mate? Only if it’s not indiscreet to ask.

[dbf]

When I read Making Haye almost 10 years ago, I really related to it as I, like the author had been captivated by Haye at the 2001 worlds. The to watch his pro career start out on the BBC, losing to Thompson, having those European level/title scraps on Sky, to winning the unified titles on Setanta. It was a great run. I was at the 02 for the Maccarenelli fight, and really hoped he would topple Wlad. I kind of lost interest in him after that loss, I was so disappointed in his performance against Klitschko.

The Chisora fight was fun, and his last great performance. Sad to watch against Bellew, especially as I'm really not a Bellew fan. But as someone said previously. He went out on his shield both times, which kind of made up for the Wlad loss for me.

I really admired him when I was in my early 20's and he was probably my favorite British boxer at the time. But when I met him for the first time in 2013 (interviewed him for a website around the time of the first attempted Fury fight) I was disappointed. Don't meet your heroes I guess. Naz was actually my hero though!

Why were you disappointed mate? Only if it’s not indiscreet to ask.

I still had a lot of enthusiasm for his career then and I thought he would be more interested to talk about his previous achievements in a positive way. He was just really curt and abrupt. I'm not saying he should have liked me just because I was a fan, far from it, but I just got the impression he wasn't that nice a bloke. Obviously could be way off the mark here and just caught him on a bad day. Or maybe I just annoyed him for some reason. Probably a bit of both!

[Noxy]

When I read Making Haye almost 10 years ago, I really related to it as I, like the author had been captivated by Haye at the 2001 worlds. The to watch his pro career start out on the BBC, losing to Thompson, having those European level/title scraps on Sky, to winning the unified titles on Setanta. It was a great run. I was at the 02 for the Maccarenelli fight, and really hoped he would topple Wlad. I kind of lost interest in him after that loss, I was so disappointed in his performance against Klitschko.

The Chisora fight was fun, and his last great performance. Sad to watch against Bellew, especially as I'm really not a Bellew fan. But as someone said previously. He went out on his shield both times, which kind of made up for the Wlad loss for me.

I really admired him when I was in my early 20's and he was probably my favorite British boxer at the time. But when I met him for the first time in 2013 (interviewed him for a website around the time of the first attempted Fury fight) I was disappointed. Don't meet your heroes I guess. Naz was actually my hero though!

Why were you disappointed mate? Only if it’s not indiscreet to ask.

I still had a lot of enthusiasm for his career then and I thought he would be more interested to talk about his previous achievements in a positive way. He was just really curt and abrupt. I'm not saying he should have liked me just because I was a fan, far from it, but I just got the impression he wasn't that nice a bloke. Obviously could be way off the mark here and just caught him on a bad day. Or maybe I just annoyed him for some reason. Probably a bit of both!

[orbtastic]

Like most have said I found him exciting, he largely delivered at Cruiserweight.

I went to the Mormeck fight and the Macca fight at the 02 and also the Ruiz and Audley fights. Listening to bunce on the way home defending Audley was embarrassing.

I had tickets for the cancelled Klit fight and that's more or less where I lost interest in his career, it became a mess of cancellations, negotiations, purse wrangling, TV rights, injuries, false promises, half truths.

fair play to him though, probably achieved more than most expected/predicted and he's got out of the game with his health and I assume, some wealth although not sure how much his divorce cost him.

He's certainly achieved more than 100% of the people that call him a fraud or joke have, that's for sure.

In terms of meeting him, I've heard vastly differing stories - Some have said he was an arse, some have said he was a good laugh and obliging. I think he's human and it probably depends on his mood and what he's trying to achieve. I know someone pointed out that he knows how to work every camera going to quickly get selfies out of the way which is probably what suits him best - hi, shake hands, selfie, fck off. I've heard that he's made people do push-ups and all sorts of crap.

[dbf]

Like most have said I found him exciting, he largely delivered at Cruiserweight.

I went to the Mormeck fight and the Macca fight at the 02 and also the Ruiz and Audley fights. Listening to bunce on the way home defending Audley was embarrassing.

I had tickets for the cancelled Klit fight and that's more or less where I lost interest in his career, it became a mess of cancellations, negotiations, purse wrangling, TV rights, injuries, false promises, half truths.

fair play to him though, probably achieved more than most expected/predicted and he's got out of the game with his health and I assume, some wealth although not sure how much his divorce cost him.

He's certainly achieved more than 100% of the people that call him a fraud or joke have, that's for sure.

In terms of meeting him, I've heard vastly differing stories - Some have said he was an arse, some have said he was a good laugh and obliging. I think he's human and it probably depends on his mood and what he's trying to achieve. I know someone pointed out that he knows how to work every camera going to quickly get selfies out of the way which is probably what suits him best - hi, shake hands, selfie, fck off. I've heard that he's made people do push-ups and all sorts of crap.

come to think of it I bough tickets for the failed Wlad fight in 2009 (he got a bad back, setanta collapsed - coincidence!?!) and never got a refund!! Was going to drive to Gelsinkirkin (!) or wherever it was.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Excellent businessman. Self-managed most of his career. Made his own choices, worked out his own deals, didn't pay middle-men. Knew what he was doing in terms of money/purses.

Did what he needed to do to make his career not just a success with world titles, but with money.

Did a but outside the ring, then made a comeback and earned a two nice paychecks to top it off.

[orbtastic]

Yeah that's the one. I think it was after a fight Vitali fell through. Setanta died and so did his back...

I managed to get a ticket refund and also the Brussels to Germany train ticket refunds but couldn't get the London-Brussels bit back so had a highly enjoyable weekend in Brussels instead.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Like most have said I found him exciting, he largely delivered at Cruiserweight.

I went to the Mormeck fight and the Macca fight at the 02 and also the Ruiz and Audley fights. Listening to bunce on the way home defending Audley was embarrassing.

I had tickets for the cancelled Klit fight and that's more or less where I lost interest in his career, it became a mess of cancellations, negotiations, purse wrangling, TV rights, injuries, false promises, half truths.

fair play to him though, probably achieved more than most expected/predicted and he's got out of the game with his health and I assume, some wealth although not sure how much his divorce cost him.

He's certainly achieved more than 100% of the people that call him a fraud or joke have, that's for sure.

In terms of meeting him, I've heard vastly differing stories - Some have said he was an arse, some have said he was a good laugh and obliging. I think he's human and it probably depends on his mood and what he's trying to achieve. I know someone pointed out that he knows how to work every camera going to quickly get selfies out of the way which is probably what suits him best - hi, shake hands, selfie, fck off. I've heard that he's made people do push-ups and all sorts of crap.

I was at the Mormeck fight too, I organised it as a part of a lads trip we went on. Scary looking crowd at that fight, I remember the taxi driver looking at us like we were mad when we asked him to take us to the Marcel Cerdan stadium, and we figured out why as soon as we arrived.

From personal experience, and from others who've had interactions with him outside the ring, I'd have to say Haye is an arrogant bellend.

However, he had some really great fighters at CW, and his destruction of Chisora looks better with every passing year.

[ash.123]

Good career and I'm seemingly in the minority that find him very likeable, even now. Wish I was old enough at the time for a trip to Germany or France for one of his fights. Also wish he'd have called it a day after the Chisora fight.

Think he'll make a good manager/promoter if he sticks at it.

[orbtastic]

I was at the Mormeck fight too, I organised it as a part of a lads trip we went on. Scary looking crowd at that fight, I remember the taxi driver looking at us like we were mad when we asked him to take us to the Marcel Cerdan stadium, and we figured out why as soon as we arrived.

From personal experience, and from others who've had interactions with him outside the ring, I'd have to say Haye is an arrogant bellend.

However, he had some really great fighters at CW, and his destruction of Chisora looks better with every passing year.

We must have been what, two of maybe ten English people in the crow that night and that includes his wife and family? I was in that weird ringside bit which actually wasn't ringside at all but his wife was a row or two in front of us.

It was an odd night all-in really, stadium in the middle of nowhere, looked like a glorified lesuire centre. The crowd were mostly what I thought Algerian types? I thought it may kick off massively but to be fair, they were all sporting and took it well.

I tried to get a drink around there and failed miserably. We found some pub near the hotel which was clearly locals only but they were alright when we spoke French. They told us that no, they most definitely would not be open if we called in on the way back.

When we told them where we were going they were not impressed and said that no, they didn't have any recommendations where to go...

They had these ringside dollies that showed us to our seats but I'm quite capable of reading numbers thanks...they wanted paying too. I feigned ignorance/half didn't understand what she was asking me anyway. She stropped off in a massive huff.

I literally bumped into M'Baye in the bogs too, he had his handwraps on and went for a quick pre-fight lash. I decided it best not to shake hands with him.

There was a bloke a couple of rows in front, everyone seemed to know him. He was Jean Reno's clone, I still haven't worked out who he was. Also saw the little Iranian dude there, Monshipour and Boutier. The crowd treated them like royalty. That's one thing I found about French fans, they do actually seem to like their sportsmen in a way the UK don't always.

I can't remember the name of the hotel I was in but the entire PSG team were there that night. They were in the bar before we left, if I knew anything about football I'd have got some autographs. The barman was a dude too, was chatting to him after the fight as they had it on TV. He laughed and said Mormeck had a glass chin.

And yeah, that Chisora KO looks better year on year. I went to see that live at the cinema, not sure what the deal with that was, more money for Haye I guess?

[Counter-puncher]

When I read Making Haye almost 10 years ago, I really related to it as I, like the author had been captivated by Haye at the 2001 worlds. The to watch his pro career start out on the BBC, losing to Thompson, having those European level/title scraps on Sky, to winning the unified titles on Setanta. It was a great run. I was at the 02 for the Maccarenelli fight, and really hoped he would topple Wlad. I kind of lost interest in him after that loss, I was so disappointed in his performance against Klitschko.

The Chisora fight was fun, and his last great performance. Sad to watch against Bellew, especially as I'm really not a Bellew fan. But as someone said previously. He went out on his shield both times, which kind of made up for the Wlad loss for me.

I really admired him when I was in my early 20's and he was probably my favorite British boxer at the time. But when I met him for the first time in 2013 (interviewed him for a website around the time of the first attempted Fury fight) I was disappointed. Don't meet your heroes I guess. Naz was actually my hero though!

Why were you disappointed mate? Only if it’s not indiscreet to ask.

I still had a lot of enthusiasm for his career then and I thought he would be more interested to talk about his previous achievements in a positive way. He was just really curt and abrupt. I'm not saying he should have liked me just because I was a fan, far from it, but I just got the impression he wasn't that nice a bloke. Obviously could be way off the mark here and just caught him on a bad day. Or maybe I just annoyed him for some reason. Probably a bit of both!

he'd have been a lot more open with Danny Flexen mate