HIS return to the ring has been a long time coming, but former two-weight world champion David Haye finally looks set to make his comeback after more than three years away.
He has teamed up with trainer Shane McGuigan, who also leads Carl Frampton’s corner, and could well make his comeback fight on the undercard of the Belfast man’s unification clash with Scott Quigg in February.
The 35-year-old recently tweeted his fans asking who they would like him to face and he gained responses from the likes of Malik Scott and Tony Bellew.
It’s unclear whether he will operate at cruiserweight – where he was a unified world champion – or heavyweight, where he won the WBA crown.
We’ve listed five men who would make a good comeback fight for the Londoner. Click below to read on.
5. Malik Scott
The American heavyweight was once a promising prospect but stoppage losses to Dereck Chisora and Deontay Wilder, as well as inactivity, have demoted him to gatekeeper status. However, the 35-year-old recently outpointed Tony Thompson and also fought Vyacheslav Glazkov to a draw in 2013.
He’s a decent boxer and knows how to frustrate opponents, though does not carry much power. He could prove a good measuring stick of where Haye’s capabilities are, while a win over him would give the Brit a decent world ranking.
4. Bryant Jennings
The chiseled Philadelphian holds wins over then-unbeaten Artur Szpilka and Mike Perez but, more importantly, went the distance with Wladimir Klitschko in his last fight. Though he dropped a unanimous decision, Jennings turned in a better performance than most expected and gave the heavyweight king plenty of trouble.
If Haye were to fight and beat Jennings in a more convincing way – i.e. by stoppage – he would have plenty of verbal ammunition to aim at Klitschko in an attempt to gain a rematch with the Ukrainian.
However, Jennings has an enticing clash with unbeaten Cuban Luis Ortiz to get through in December.
3. Tony Bellew
The outspoken Liverpudlian can be a polarising figure at times, but he’s an honest and engaging talker meaning the promotion for this one would be a hit. Since moving to cruiser from light-heavyweight, Bellew has proven he can mix with high-level opposition and also seems stronger at the weight.
Tony is aggressive and talented and the fight would do big business in the UK. However the big money fights for Haye lie at heavyweight, so a move back to cruiser could be out of the question. Bellew has expressed his interest in fighting Haye on Twitter, though he faces Mateusz Masternak in December first.
2. Erkan Teper
Teper notoriously crushed David Price’s comeback hopes in July by knocking him out in two rounds to claim the European heavyweight title. The win instantly made him an attractive opponent for all fringe contenders in the banner division.
The European title would be a decent bargaining chip for Haye and a good place to start on his path back to world title contention. Plus, the German is dangerous but beatable. Avenging Price’s defeat for some sort of national pride could be a decent sell but the unbeaten Teper would be a decent scalp regardless.
1. Deontay Wilder
Of course, Haye could potentially just walk into a world title fight. The WBC champion is unbeaten, charismatic and a former sparring partner of Haye’s, making this fight instantly billable. Indeed, if the rumours are to be believed, Haye had his way with Wilder during those sparring sessions.
Wilder is the greenest of the top-level operators in the heavyweight division while Haye is considerably experienced, especially on the big stage. While some would gripe that Haye has not earned a title shot, one just needs to look at Wilder’s past two defences.
Wilder has been granted yet another voluntary defence in January which would allow Haye ample time to prepare with McGuigan, and for the promotional steam train to get rolling.
