David Haye retires..

Good...

Should have done this after the Chisora fight. Too many injuries and too much time out. For a fighter that depends on reflexes and speed that will only go one way a soon as you age let alone get injured. I still thought he had enought to beat Bellew who was a bit better than I thought. But still to get completely smashed by him at HW tells you it is game over.

Without being a nob out of the ring I think his career would have been viewed a little better. Good CW and did ok at HW. Was very disappointed with the Wlad fight. They had a gameplan that clearly was not working after a few rounds. No plan B and shame as he if he took some risk he may have landed bomb albeit might have taken one himself. That fight will mostly be remembered for his toe.

Anyway good luck to him, sounds like he needs money so I am sure we will see him on Sky more often than not.

Certainly deserves credit for his Cruiserweight and early Heavyweight (to a degree) exploits. At 200 lb Haye was a genuinely exciting and explosive fighter who added a bit of class to an otherwise pretty dull division. Moving up to Heavy in 2009 he really did seem to have the world at his feet; good looking, a bit of a showman, intelligent and blessed with an easy-on-the-eye style. He had the potential to be immensely good for the sport in these Isles.

Alas, Haye the Heavyweight flattered to deceive, and I’ll echo Truss’ brief comments above: good riddance. His influence on British boxing since 2010 / 2011 has been almost entirely pernicious, as if he’s deliberately set out to embody all the traits us fans find most annoying. His withdrawal from the Wlad fight in 2009 seemed reasonable at the time, but in fact was a harbinger of what was to come. The Audley debacle was unforgivable. The eventual Wlad performance was an anticlimax, 'toegate' which followed a mild embarrassment. The press conference clown show with Chisora. Pulling out of fights with Charr and Fury x 2. The inactivity interrupted every now and then by some desperate media stunt to remind everyone that he was still alive and gull them in to thinking he was going to start letting his fists, rather than his Instagram, do the talking. The painfully manufactured 'beef' with Bellew. It was a seemingly never-ending circus show designed to make big money while doing sweet FA.

From 2010 onwards Haye simply seemed more intent on being 'famous' than he did on proving himself as a top fighter, and it grew tiresome in the end. Credit where it's due for his early achievements, but I'm glad he's on his way out of the game, to say the least.

Once the injuries mounted up he was never going to recover because as others mentioned, his style needs sharp reflexes. I felt he bulked up too much towards the end too, looked better at heavy when he was lighter as he still had enough power for the division.

But he definitely outstayed his welcome which seems like it was for cash only. Box Office vs Audley and twice against Bellew. Not to mention his 20,000 sellout on his comeback fight in the O2. Haye probably the best salesman in the British fight scene for 15 years, however this is what annoyed actual fans.

I found Haye talks a lot of sense when he is commenting on other fights and keeps his ego in check.  His out of ring antics when trying to promote his fights were just too much especially when he was chasing the Klitschko fights.   It was all deliberate on his part - but I think he mistook the public attitude to it.  And then there was him interrupting some press conference involving chisora and Klitschko - and the ridiculous melee that ensued - with I think Haye throwing a glass bottle at Chisora. Apparently Haye came back from retirement because he needed the money. But I think he could make a good living as a secondary commentator, milk his celebrity (infamy?) and he has his own boxing promotion business (I think).

Some seem to think he overacheived, but that's not how I feel. I'm frustrated because I think he underacheived (at least in terms of his record). Around the turn of the decade should have been his prime. He should have been fighting guys like Povetkin and Chagaev, rather than the debacle against Audley, stalking Wlad with his cameraman in tow, rolling around the floor with Chisora, and doing reality TV.

I think Haye is a classic example of "coulda woulda shoulda" but never actually did. As a cruiserweight he was incredibly entertaining, having the power to end fights pretty much when he wished. When he weighed in for the Maccarinelli fight lighter than expected after reported weight struggles the look on Warren's face was superb - like he had just lost his wallet.

However the lure of the heavyweight division was one steeped in cash and one he couldn't resist. Articulate yet spiteful, he talked a good fight but didn't acknowledge how divisive he was being. Arguably his most entertaining heavy fight was against Ruiz, but he was never going to beat Wlad with his tactics and the whole toe thing drove many of his fans (including me) away.

He should have stayed retired after Wlad. Thank you for the Cruiserweight times, Hayemaker. You can shut up now.

So Ruiz is a good example of what I'm talking about.. OK so not a top tier fighter, but he was durable and had mixed in elite circles, and Haye gave him the battering of his life. You could arguably say the same about Chisora. I think we can all accept that Haye fell well short agianst Wlad, but I don't see any reason why he couldn't have established himself as the clear #2 heavyweight of the day.

David Haye was surely one of the best of British Boxers - a two division world champion - cruiserweight and heavyweight.  But the latter part of his career was rather spoilt by his over the top repugnant manner of promoting his fights, a whole series of injuries, and the last two Bellew fights.

I suppose Haye was the only British Boxer to win world championship belts at BOTH these two weights.  Where would he go in a list of best british heavyweights and a list of best british cruiserweights.  At heavyweight Fury and Joshua in both beating Wladimir Klitschko would be above Haye, as would Frank Bruno with Lennox Lewis topping the list. Haye didn't have that many fights at Heavyweight.