David Haye interview: Thought of Las Vegas lures Haye back to the ring

Having overcome the shoulder injury that seemed to have ended his career, British heavyweight tells Kevin Garside he realised there were things left undone – a fight at the spiritual home of boxing, hopefully against new kid on the block Deontay Wilder

David Haye (GETTY IMAGES)

Las Vegas likes to place itself at the centre of the boxing universe. Not on this day. Not for these kids. That would be the Double Jab ABC, tucked away behind New Cross station in south-east London, the kind of neighbourhood that over the years has bred fighting men.

The room given over to the heavy bags was swarming with youngsters pounding away, indiscriminately engaged in what might be described as baby steps. Fighting for space were film crews and onlookers craning necks for a glimpse of the man that brought them here, former heavyweight champion of the world, David Haye.

This was supposed to be a surprise visit on behalf of the “Backing Up Boxing” campaign, an initiative driving volunteer participation in the amateur game up and down the land. But this being boxing, a tight community of like-minded souls, word had got out. The place was rammed, some having travelled from as far away as Hammersmith on the other side of the city.

Haye offered simple instruction on balance and stance, how to plant the feet before unloading to release the power. The kids lapped it up, particularly the younger ones, who were not intimate with the detail of Haye’s career, or the scale of his achievement, but they understood the idea of success and celebrity, and were thrilled that a fighter as decorated as he should be among them.

Haye was equally happy to be back in an environment he entered at the same age. These were baby steps for him, too, coinciding with an announcement to fight on. The shoulder injury that he thought might end it all was wholly rehabilitated, stronger than ever he says, and at 34 he is ready to resume a career that flowered brilliantly at cruiserweight, but never quite established itself in the heavyweight division.

There is a stuff left undone, work to complete, and we are not talking about a meeting with Tyson Fury. “That won’t happen. I’m not interested one bit. There is nothing but bad luck there. He has a black cloud surrounding him. I’d rather take another route, thanks very much. Fury has to fight [Wladimir] Klitschko first anyway.”

Ah, Klitschko. The defeat to the mighty Ukrainian in Hamburg four years ago has long since been processed, but the comprehensive nature of it was not representative, and not how Haye wants to be remembered. The broken toe invoked in mitigation afterwards seemed to round off neatly an ugly episode that began with a severed-heads-on-T-shirts stunt, intended to goad either brother into the ring but which was always in unnecessarily poor taste.

David Haye (GETTY IMAGES)

Three years after last throwing a punch, a devastating sequence that saw off Dereck Chisora at Upton Park, Haye resumes with a new hunger and a desire to put his name properly in heavyweight lights. “I have never fought in Vegas. That’s something I’d love to do. It’s the capital of our sport. If you regard yourself as a headline act then you have to fight in Vegas. Now there is an opportunity.”

The “opportunity” is called Deontay Wilder, a gift to the heavywight division who Haye brought over as a sparring partner to help prepare for the Fury fight that never happened, and who has since progressed to the WBC crown. “He’s a guy who’s unbeaten. He’s fighting on network TV in America, becoming a household name so hopefully that’s a deal that can be done. All the dimensions are there.

“He has an aura about him. If I turned up half-hearted when we were sparring then I’d be sleeping. He’s not a sparring partner who goes through the motions. He’s trying to punch holes in your head from the first bell.

“As well as that, he’s fast, he has loads of heart, loads of bottle. Everyone who has seen the footage of us sparring has said how good it would be if we were to get it on for real. He’s the champ now. If I want to be the WBC champion I have to go over to America and get after this guy. That’s a nice thought. I’ve never had an American to go after. It’s always been a Russian, or a German/Ukrainian/Russian.”

After a decade of Eastern European dominance, Wilder’s emergence has drawn the centre of heavyweight gravity back towards the United States, a place Klitschko has struggled to penetrate. As he builds towards the end of a remarkable career Klitschko at last has reason to look westward. That process continues on Saturday with the next defence of his WBA, WBO and IBF crowns against America’s Bryant Jennings in New York.

This is Klitschko’s first fight in America since he took down Sultan Ibragimov in 2008 in the same Madison Square Garden ring. A world heavyweight duel in the Garden utterly drowned out by the frenzy surrounding Floyd Mayweather’s date a week hence with Manny Pacquiao, that is sorry state of events Haye is seeking to redress in this, his second coming.

Haye finds himself in the era of the super heavy. A generation ago, before the emergence of the 6ft 7in 18 stone leviathans, Haye’s dimensions might have seen him rule the earth. At 6ft 3in and 15 st-plus he is classically proportioned, and against any average heavy his speed and power is far too much, but he was under-tooled against Klitschko, who he concedes is good at what he does.

“Klitschko is a strange one. He is a great fighter, no doubt about that. He is non-controversial and speaks well about the game but he has had people switching off from the heavyweight game. He’s not prime time in this country. No-one is interested. It’s the same in America. But he is still here. Jennings in New York: maybe he is understanding the need to change.”

David Haye blames his 2011 loss to Wladimir Klitschko on poor training techniques (Getty Images)

And you would take that fight again? “I’d take that fight but not in Germany. I’ve been there, done that. You are under so many stipulations and conditions with the referee and judges, etc. I did not enjoy that experience. The fact that Klitschko is a really good fighter on top of that makes it that much more difficult.”

Haye understands there is ground to make up. The postponements against Fury and the underwhelming display against Klitschko in Hamburg were poor returns for one of the greatest boxers Britain has produced. A world silver amateur medal in Belfast 15 years ago was the prelude to a stellar pro career. The only blemish before Hamburg came 11 years ago against Manchester hard nut Carl Thompson when he couldn’t decide if he were a boxer, a DJ or a model. Thompson knocked seven bells of sense into him in the fifth, after Haye had led him in a dance for two rounds.

His greatest moment came three years later in France against Jean-Marc Mormeck when he became the unidisputed cruiserweight champion in his opponent’s back yard. He is looking to fight this summer then twice more before lining up a title shot. There might even be a surprise link up with trainer of the moment, Shane McGuigan, and an appearance on a card promoted by Shane’s old man Barry, whose last show, headed by Carl Frampton, played out before an audience of more than a million on ITV.

“I like Shane,” Haye adds. “If you look at what he has done as a young coach you can’t question it. Barry is a friend of mine. I was over in Belfast for the last Frampton fight and it was a great show. I was taken aback by the whole promotion. I’d like to fight on one of his cards. It was as good as you get in the UK. I hope he can continue with ITV. It’s great to get more people seeing the sport. I’m looking at the big picture. I don’t have to go to the highest bidder.”

Haye filling our screens and Vegas, too. But first those baby steps.

David Haye is supporting ‘Backing Up Boxing’, a campaign from Join In to put more volunteers into community boxing. For more information visit joininuk.org

David Haye on Mayweather vs Pacquiao

“Mayweather has never lost. He’s been taken close a couple of times but other than that it has been a clear victory. Pacquiao on the other hand has been stopped, lost five fights. He got the nod a couple of times against Juan Manuel Marquez that he might have lost. You can’t compare that to someone who has never lost, as good as he is. Smart money is Mayweather on points. He does not knock people out any more. But there is such anticipation and hype around this fight, I’d love it to be a knockout.”