Born:
October 13, 1980
in
Bermondsey, London
Best Known For:
Being a former heavyweight boxing champion.
Early-life:
David Deron Haye was born on October 13, 1980, in Bermondsey, London. He has an older sister, Louisa, and a younger brother, James. He attended Bacon's College in Rotherhithe. His developed his passion for boxing at Fitzroy Lodge Boxing Club in Lambeth. At the 2001 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Belfast, Haye fought in the heavyweight division and went home with a silver medal after being stopped in the final by Odlanier Solis.
Career:
Haye turned professional as a cruiserweight in 2002 and won his first fight by knockout. He won a number of fights in 2003 and his popularity continued to grow in 2004 when he beat former world champion 'King' Arthur Williams in three rounds. In 2007, Haye challenged Jean-Marc Mormeck for the WBA, WBC and the Ring cruiserweight titles and won with a knockout in the seventh round. In 2009, he became the WBA heavyweight champion after defeating Nikolay Valuev. He went on to defend his WBA title against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison and two years' later faced Wladimir Klitschko in a much-anticipated heavyweight unification fight. Klitschko won by a unanimous decision. Haye came out of retirement in July 2012 to beat Dereck Chisora in front of 30,000 people at West Ham United's ground. Unfortunately, a shoulder injury has forced him to withdraw from his last three planned fights. Away from boxing, Haye participated in the 2012 series of I'm a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, finishing third.
Quote:
'My father inspired me to follow my dreams and enrolled me in a boxing academy, in order to keep me away from the streets. Since then, I started pursuing the dream of becoming a heavyweight champion, and with all my hard work and effort, I finally was able to accomplish my dream.'
Trivia:
He was awarded citizenship of Northern Cyprus in 2010 after regularly training there; he maintains his UK citizenship.