Former world heavyweight champion David Haye has retired from boxing. The British boxer said it was time to “close this chapter in my life”.
The 37-year-old lost his last fight in May, a heavyweight rematch against fellow Briton Tony Bellew, after losing the first contest in March 2017.
Haye is also a former cruiserweight world champion and ends his career with a record of four defeats in 32 fights.
He said he was “ready to close this chapter in my life” but “this is not the end of my story – it’s simply the start of something new”.
Haye beat Russian Nikolay Valuev to claim the WBA heavyweight crown in 2009.
READ: Eleven dead after river boats collide in Russia city where Nigeria plays Iceland
In doing so, he became only the second boxer after American Evander Holyfield to unify the cruiserweight titles and become a heavyweight world champion.
However, after his fifth-round stoppage by Bellew, Haye acknowledged he was “giving 100% effort but performing way below world level”.
In a statement, he added: “For my fans, it must have been like going to support their favourite thoroughbred racehorse at the Grand National, only to see their stallion stumble out the gates like a sedated mule at the Donkey Derby.
“I saw punches coming but wasn’t quick enough to avoid them. I created openings but lacked the speed and agility to capitalise on them.
“Quick, bread and butter counterattacks, the sort I’ve effortlessly thrown since my teenage years, are no longer in my armoury. And when I take shots, they now shake me to my boots.
“The things I used to be able to do in the ring – instinctively – now exist only in my mind and in video clips of my old fights.”
