?It?s a crushing blow. I had big plans for next year and the ultimate goal was to win back the world heavyweight title??
The on-again, off-again career of David Haye is off-again, and maybe this time for good.
Like grand opera without music, or soap opera sans drama, Haye?s February 8 fight with Tyson Fury has been cancelled after doctors in Germany said he needed shoulder surgery immediately, to which the former champion agreed.
?I genuinely believed the shoulder injury wasn?t that bad,? said Haye. ?But the doctor sent me for a detailed MRI scan and within 24 hours I was told the full extent of the damage. Twenty four hours after that I was in the operating theater.?
Haye had a five-hour surgery on his ruptured right subscapularis and biceps tendon attachments. That doesn?t sound good and must have hurt bad, but even more painful was the doctor?s suggestion that he should ?seriously consider? retiring.
?It?s a crushing blow,? Haye said. ?I had big plans for next year and the ultimate goal was to win back the world heavyweight title. What I didn?t anticipate was that this year would be the unluckiest of my career and that a number of injuries would disrupt my plans so much. Perhaps it just wasn?t meant to be. The boxing gods keep hinting that maybe enough is enough and that it?s time to finally hang up my gloves.?
Haye has retired before. His farewell letter from 2011, in which Haye reflected on boxing as steppingstone and his desire to be an action hero in the movies, was a fascinating document. It was a window into Haye?s mind, a window into his soul, and was as maudlin and self-referential as expected.
But that was then and this is now. Tyson Fury, who is as outspoken as he is large, didn?t take kindly to the news. ?I smell pussy is that you David?? he wrote on Twitter. ?I smell pussy. Is that you David??
After having expressed his innermost thoughts, Fury took a step back and offered a more measured response to Haye?s injury.
?I?m absolutely furious but in all honesty this is exactly what I expected. Everyone knows I was very suspicious when he pulled out the first time and this confirms to me that he?s always been afraid of me and never wanted this fight.?
It?s been interesting David. It has also been fun. Keep us abreast of the situation as it develops.
