David Haye has been asked about the best heavyweights to ever lace up the gloves.
Haye himself is one of Britain’s most successful boxers. He ruled over the cruiserweight division as a big-hitting and explosive unified champion.
Then, towards the end of his career, ‘The Hayemaker’ moved up to heavyweight and secured world honours when he beat Nikolai Valuev for the WBA title. He defended it against John Ruiz and Audley Harrison before losing Ukrainian great to Wladimir Klitschko.
After retiring, an injury-prone Haye came back for a pair of fights with Tony Bellew, both of which he lost, before hanging up the gloves for good in 2018 with a record of 32 fights and 28 wins.
When asked by Daily Mail Sport Boxing, he named the current crop of heavyweights, all of whom are former world title holders, Deontay Wilder, Joseph Parker, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury as ‘great,’ then George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson and Oleksandr Usyk as ‘legends.’
He reserved the greatest of all time status for a true boxing icon, Muhammad Ali.
“If there’s one above legend we will go with [Ali]. GOAT for sure.”
Muhammad Ali was not only a legendary boxer with unmatched speed, skill, and charisma in the heavyweight ranks, but also a courageous activist who stood firm for his beliefs, even at great personal cost. He is, therefore, often regarded as the greatest.
The man Haye puts above his peers of the modern era is Usyk, one of only a few men to have won world titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight, and the first undisputed champion in the heavyweight division since Lennox Lewis in 1999. If he beats Daniel Dubois at Wembley this weekend, he will do it for a second time in just over a year.