David Haye facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Haye
Haye vs. Ismail Abdoul, 2006
Statistics
Real name	David Deron Haye
Nickname(s)	The Hayemaker
Rated at	Cruiserweight Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in
Reach	78 in
Born	(1980-10-13) 13 October 1980 (age 44) Bermondsey, London, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	32
Wins	28
Wins by KO	26
Losses	4
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Representing  England Copenhagen Cup Gold Copenhagen 2000 Heavyweight Trofeo Italia Gold Naples 2002 Heavyweight World Amateur Championships Silver Belfast 2001 Heavyweight

David Deron Haye, born on October 13, 1980, is a famous British former professional boxer. He competed in boxing from 2002 to 2018. He won many world championships in two different weight classes. He was also the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amateur Boxing Championships in 2001, where he won a silver medal.

As a professional, David became a unified cruiserweight world champion in 2008. This meant he held three of the four main world titles. From 2005 to 2007, he was ranked as the world's best cruiserweight by BoxRec. In 2008, he moved up to the heavyweight division. He won the WBA title in 2009 by beating Nikolai Valuev. Valuev was much taller and heavier than Haye. David Haye is one of only three boxers in history to have unified cruiserweight titles and become a world heavyweight champion.

Haye started his own boxing company, Hayemaker Promotions, in 2008. He became a vegan in 2014. Later that year, he launched his own line of vegan protein powder.

Early Life and Boxing Start

David Deron Haye was born in Bermondsey, London, on October 13, 1980. He grew up in Bermondsey and went to Bacon's College.

Amateur Boxing Career

When he was eighteen, Haye competed in the light-heavyweight division. This was at the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Houston, Texas. He knocked out the champion, Courtney Fry. However, he missed out on the 2000 Sydney Olympics after a tough loss.

At the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Belfast, Haye fought in the heavyweight division. He beat Sebastian Köber to reach the final. In the final, he faced Odlanier Solís and won a silver medal. Haye's amateur record was 83 wins and 11 losses.

Professional Boxing Journey

David Haye became a professional boxer in December 2002, when he was 22. In his first fight, he won against Tony Booth. In 2003, he won seven fights, all by knockout (KO). One notable win was against Lolenga Mock, where Haye had to get up from being knocked down to win.

Haye's fights were often shown on BBC Sport. His popularity grew in 2004 when he quickly defeated former world champion "King" Arthur Williams.

First Big Challenge

Later in 2004, in his eleventh fight, Haye faced 40-year-old former champion Carl Thompson. This was seen as a 'youth vs. experience' match. Haye started very fast, hitting Thompson with many strong punches. He almost stopped the fight in the early rounds.

However, Thompson slowly got stronger as Haye seemed to get tired. Thompson then knocked Haye down in round five. Haye's corner stopped the fight, even though Haye was ahead on points.

Becoming European Champion

Haye came back strong, winning his next fights by technical knockout (TKO). He then faced Alexander Gurov for the European cruiserweight title. Haye knocked out Gurov in just 45 seconds with one punch.

In January 2006, Haye signed a contract with promoter Frank Maloney. He successfully defended his European title against Ismail Abdoul. He also defeated Giacobbe Fragomeni in the ninth round. Haye had wanted to beat Fragomeni for seven years.

In April 2007, Haye fought as a heavyweight for the first time. He won by first-round KO against Tomasz Bonin. Bonin was a highly ranked fighter with only one loss. Haye said he always dreamed of being the heavyweight champion.

Unifying Cruiserweight Titles

Winning World Titles

Haye challenged Jean-Marc Mormeck on November 10, 2007, for the WBA, WBC, and The Ring cruiserweight titles. Haye was knocked down in the fourth round. But he came back to knock out Mormeck in the seventh round. This win made Haye Britain's sixth world champion. He said, "I worked my way back into the fight and showed great heart." This victory showed Haye was a top-level fighter.

All-British Showdown

Haye and Enzo Maccarinelli met in an all-British world cruiserweight title fight on March 9, 2008, in London. Haye's WBA, WBC, and The Ring titles were on the line, along with Maccarinelli's WBO title. Both boxers were known for hitting hard. Haye knocked out Maccarinelli in the second round. Haye called this win "the final piece" in his cruiserweight journey.

Moving to Heavyweight

After unifying the cruiserweight titles, Haye moved up to the heavyweight division. He defeated Monte Barrett in London on November 15, 2008, winning by TKO in the fifth round.

Haye was set to fight Wladimir Klitschko in Germany in June 2009. However, Haye had to pull out due to a back injury.

Becoming WBA Heavyweight Champion

The "David vs. Goliath" Fight

Haye then agreed to fight Nikolay Valuev for the WBA heavyweight title on November 7, 2009, in Germany. This fight was called "David vs. Goliath" because Valuev was much bigger. Haye weighed almost 100 pounds less than Valuev. Haye won the fight by a majority decision. He became the first boxer in history to be seven stone (about 98 pounds) or more lighter than an opponent in a world title fight and still win.

Defending the Title

On April 3, 2010, Haye defended his WBA title against former champion John Ruiz in Manchester. Haye defeated Ruiz by TKO in the ninth round. Ruiz was knocked down four times during the fight. After the fight, Haye challenged the Klitschko brothers.

Haye vs. Harrison

On November 13, 2010, Haye fought Audley Harrison at the Manchester Arena. The press conference before the fight was very tense. Haye defeated Harrison by TKO in the third round. Harrison landed only one punch during the entire fight. An investigation took place after the fight because Harrison's performance was so poor. His payment was held back for a while but later released.

In April 2011, it was announced that Haye and Wladimir Klitschko would finally fight on July 2, 2011, in Hamburg.

Haye vs. Wladimir Klitschko

The fight between Haye and Klitschko was a big heavyweight unification match. Klitschko defeated Haye by a unanimous decision (UD) to become the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion. Haye later said he had a broken toe during the fight.

Retirement and Comebacks

After the Klitschko fight, Haye talked about retiring from boxing. He had a long-standing plan to retire before he turned 31. An authorized book about his career, Making Haye, was published in late 2011.

Return to the Ring

Haye put his retirement on hold and was in talks to fight Vitali Klitschko. However, Klitschko fought Derek Chisora instead. After that fight, there was a big argument between Chisora and Haye, who was watching. This led to talks of Haye fighting Chisora.

Haye vs. Chisora

On July 14, 2012, Haye fought Derek Chisora at Boleyn Ground in London. Haye won the fight with a fifth-round stoppage. Chisora was knocked down twice in the fifth round, and the referee stopped the fight.

Injuries and Setbacks

Haye was scheduled to fight Tyson Fury in September 2013. However, Haye suffered a cut to his head, and the fight was postponed. It was rescheduled for February 2014, but Haye pulled out again after shoulder surgery. Doctors advised Haye to retire, but he never officially announced it.

The Comeback Trail

In 2015, Haye changed trainers to Shane McGuigan.

Haye vs. de Mori

On January 16, 2016, Haye made his comeback against Mark de Mori at The O2 Arena in London. This was Haye's first fight in over three years. Haye knocked out de Mori in just 113 seconds of the first round. The fight was shown on the free-to-air channel Dave and was very popular, with over 3 million viewers.

Haye vs. Gjergjaj

Haye's next fight was on May 21, 2016, against Arnold Gjergjaj. Haye knocked Gjergjaj down three times before the referee stopped the fight in the second round. This fight was also shown on Dave and was very successful.

Haye vs. Bellew

After his win in October, WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew challenged Haye. On November 25, 2016, it was announced that Haye and Bellew would fight in a heavyweight bout on March 4, 2017, in London. The fight was shown on Sky Box Office.

The fight was intense. In the sixth round, Haye injured his Achilles tendon, causing him to fall twice. Bellew then took control. Bellew knocked Haye down in the eleventh round. Haye got up, but his corner threw in the towel, giving Bellew a TKO win. Haye had surgery for his ruptured Achilles tendon.

Change of Trainer

In June 2017, Haye and his trainer Shane McGuigan decided to stop working together. Haye then hired Cuban trainer Ismael Salas in July.

Haye vs. Bellew II

Negotiations began for a rematch between Haye and Bellew. On September 29, the rematch was officially confirmed for December 17, 2017, at The O2 Arena. However, Haye injured his arm and had to pull out. The fight was rescheduled for May 5, 2018.

In the rematch, Bellew knocked Haye down three times. Bellew won the fight via TKO in round five. Haye congratulated Bellew after the fight.

Final Retirement

On June 12, 2018, David Haye announced his retirement from boxing. He spoke about his career and the many injuries he had suffered.

Exhibition Bout

Haye vs. Fournier

In August 2021, Haye announced he would have a special one-off fight against his friend, businessman Joe Fournier. This fight took place on September 11, 2021, in Los Angeles. Haye explained that the fight came about after a dinner conversation where Fournier seriously believed he could win. The fight was an exhibition, meaning it didn't count on their professional records. Haye easily outboxed Fournier over 8 rounds and won by unanimous decision. After the fight, he jokingly challenged Tyson Fury.

Promotional Work

Haye with Adam Booth (center) and George Groves, 2011.

On January 20, 2017, Haye announced he would combine his Hayemaker Promotions with Richard Schaefer's Ringstar Sport. They created Hayemaker Ringstar, a new boxing promotion company based in the UK.

In July 2017, Hayemaker Ringstar announced a TV deal with UKTV for their channel Dave. This deal would show five fight nights per year. They also introduced new boxers they had signed, including Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce.

Media Appearances

Haye created his own reality show, David Haye versus, which aired on Sky 1 in June 2011. It showed him training and talking with famous people like Ricky Gervais and Justin Bieber.

In November 2012, he took part in I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, a popular TV show, where he finished third.

Personal Life and Interests

Haye lives in the Beckenham area of London. He married make-up artist Natasha in 2008, and they have a son named Cassius, after Cassius Clay. They divorced in 2016.

Haye is a fan of Millwall FC. He also gained citizenship in Northern Cyprus in 2010, but later gave it up. His training camp was in Ozanköy from 2005 until he split with his trainer Adam Booth. He sometimes wore the Northern Cypriot flag on his shorts.

Haye became a vegan in 2014. He said he watched a documentary about how animals are farmed and decided he couldn't be part of it anymore. He researched how to get enough protein as a vegan and then stopped eating animal products. In 2016, he appeared in a video for PETA called David Haye: Vegan for Animals.

Awards and Recognition

Haye was chosen for the final 10 shortlist for the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. This was for his great performances against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison.

Images for kids

• 

  Haye vs. Ismail Abdoul, 2006

• 

  Haye at Wimbledon, 2014

• 

  Haye with Adam Booth (center) and George Groves, 2011.

See also

In Spanish: David Haye para niños