Former world champion David Haye has been told to
"seriously consider" retiring from boxing by doctors due to a serious
shoulder injury.
The 33-year-old Londoner, who won world titles at
heavyweight and cruiserweight, has called off his planned bout against Tyson
Fury on 8 February and may well have fought for the final time.
Hayemaker Boxing released a statement which read:
"David underwent five hours of surgery in Germany on Thursday morning to
reconstruct his right shoulder, and has since been told to seriously consider
ending his glittering 11-year professional boxing career.
"The operation was to the right subscapularis and
bicep tendon attachments, both of which were ruptured."
A crushing blow
Haye added: "I genuinely believed the shoulder
injury wasn't that bad.
"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 theatre.
David Haye is to consider retirement after a serious
injury.
"It's a crushing blow for me. I had big plans for
next year and the ultimate goal was to win back the world heavyweight title,
something my amazing fans deserve.
"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."
Having won the world cruiserweight title in 2007, Haye
stepped up to heavyweight and claimed the world title when he beat Nikolai
Valuev in November 2009.
However, after a pair of successful defences, he lost his
title when he was beaten on points by Wladimir Klitschko in July 2011.
Haye proud of career
After a brief retirement, he returned to beat Dereck
Chisora in the summer of 2012, but injuries have led to planned 2013 fights
against Manuel Charr and Fury being called off.
Haye added: "The surgery and subsequent results are
a bitter pill to swallow, because I truly felt I had a lot more to offer and
was looking forward to paying back my loyal fans with some great fights in
2014.
"But I've been boxing for 23 years now, amateur and
pro, and this has clearly taken its toll on my body.
"I can only offer my sincerest apologies to all
those fans who have followed me over the years and, like me, wanted to finish
on a real high. This wasn't how I wanted to end 2013.
"If I'm now destined to have won the European
Championship, the Unified World Cruiserweight Championship and the WBA
Heavyweight Championship of the world - with a record of 28 fights, 26 wins, 24
victories coming via knockout, and only two defeats - then so be it.
"I'm proud of these achievements and consider my
boxing career a huge success."
Culled from Skysports
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