David Haye, the former world heavyweight champion who has not boxed for three and a half years, will announce his comeback date, venue and opponent on Tuesday.
Haye, who turned 35 this month, four years after he had pledged he would retire for good, has chosen as the O2 Arena – half a mile from where he grew up and where he has been watching the ATP World Tour Finals this week – as the venue for his announcement.
His last fight was an impressive five-round dismantling of the then formidable Dereck Chisora at Upton Park in June, 2012. He pulled out of two fights against Tyson Fury with shoulder injuries and has hinted at returning to the sport several times, most recently when he challenged the rising Olympic gold medallist and world title prospect Anthony Joshua.
That is not on the immediate horizon and Haye will pick a far easier opponent to ease back into the division, which could be in a state of flux if Fury beats the world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko at the end of the month in Germany. It is unlikely Fury would grant Haye a shot at the title, having lost a considerable amount of time and money preparing for two fights against him that never happened.
Klitschko, who beat Haye over 12 rounds in the infamous “broken toe” fight, would be even more reluctant to offer him a quick passage back to the top.
Haye’s next fight – if he gets to the ring fit and healthy – will excite interest only for his reappearance. If he beats a nondescript opponent, it will do no more than gauge where he is physically and mentally, and will offer little by way of rating him as a genuine contender.
Shane McGuigan, who trains the Irish world champion Carl Frampton, will be with Haye at Tuesday’s announcement.
