Haye open to retirement u-turn

Boxing : Vitali Klitschko's upcoming fight with Dereck Chisora has not dampened David Haye's enthusiasm for a bout against the…

Boxing: Vitali Klitschko's upcoming fight with Dereck Chisora has not dampened David Haye's enthusiasm for a bout against the Ukrainian.

Haye, 31, is technically retired having lost his last fight, and with it his WBA heavyweight title, to Klitschko's brother Wladimir in July.

Talk of a fight with Vitali, 40, persists, though the WBC champion's fight with Haye's fellow Briton Chisora, confirmed on Monday night by German broadcaster RTL, appears to muddy the water further.

Haye told The Sun: "When myself and Vitali potentially fight is unknown as yet but we're still talking. It hasn't really affected me in any way, shape or form.

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"I can wait as long as it takes. He's 40 at the moment, I've just turned 31. If he was to leave it five years that's fine by me."

He added: "Technically I would have lied to my fans about retiring if I fight again. But those same fans obviously wouldn't ideally want me to finish on a loss.

"They would want me to finish by knocking out either Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko. I'm sure they'll forgive me if I get that fight with Vitali and knock him out like I plan to do."