Confusion reigns over former world heavyweight champion David Haye’s future in boxing after a series of seemingly conflicting statements.
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Haye has always said that he would retire from the sport on his 31st birthday and with that particular date coming up on Thursday that position appeared to be ratified by the British Boxing Board of Control secretary Robert Smith.
Smith told BBC Radio Five Live: “According to the email I received, he [Haye] is no longer wishing to renew his licence.”
Without a license, Haye would be unable to box legally but talk of a return to the ring has already been mentioned by the Vitali Klitschko’s promoter Bernd Boente. The Londoner lost his WBA title to the Ukrainian’s brother, Wladimir, in July in a attempt to unify the titles only to lose a unanimous points decision in a lacklustre contest. Now it is claimed that despite retiring he could yet face the older sibling should the money be right for the parties concerned.
Boente told Sky Sports News: “David Haye’s manager Adam Booth always told me that he will officially retire on Thursday… but that he would definitely come back if there is a fight against Vitali or a rematch against Wladimir. So this option is still there.
“Adam and myself actually just spoke with each other and we are in constant contact. We are still waiting for some numbers from British TV and then we’ll see if the business case is realistic and then we will do the fight or Vitali will fight another opponent in February or March next year.
He continued: “A re-match with Wladimir makes no sense because there are no questions after the first fight and you can only promote a fight if there is a certain thrill.
“But against Vitali it’s different. Vitali has a totally different style. Vitali said after the fight (in July) he wants to finish what his brother didn’t do, meaning knock out David Haye and David said he likes Vitali’s style, that would fit him more.”
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