David Haye has been forced to postpone his fight with Tyson Fury for a second time due to injury. The latest setback comes as the English boxer, who last fought in July of 2012, was forced to undergo shoulder surgery.
ESPN UK reports the ailment is serious enough to call off the bout with Fury, which was scheduled for Feb. 8 of next year at Manchester Arena. Now, doctors have reportedly suggested Haye should consider stepping away from the sport altogether.
David Haye v Tyson Fury in February is OFF after Haye undergoes shoulder surgery. Doctors have advised Haye to retire. More as we get it.
— ESPN.co.uk (@ESPNUK) November 17, 2013
Two months ago, Haye and Fury were in the final stages of their preparations when the former heavyweight suffered a deep cut above his eye during training. The cut required six stitches and wouldn't have healed in time for the original bout.
The shoulder injury comes with more than two months before the scheduled bout, but is clearly a more serious concern. With doctors apparently telling Haye to think about retirement, it's very much up in the air if the fight with Fury gets rescheduled again.
In an article posted on the boxer's official site, Haye called the newest setback a "crushing blow" in his journey back toward the heavyweight title. He stopped short of calling it quits, but did admit the boxing gods might be sending him a message.
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.
Haye went on to say if he's indeed forced to retire, he'll be happy with his accomplishments:
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.
The article states the surgery took place in Germany on Thursday and was used to repair the right subscapularis and bicep tendon attachments. When an MRI showed the extent of the damage, Haye was left with no choice but to undergo surgery.
It's unknown if Haye is going to make a serious push to return at some point. Only time will tell, but he seems content with walking away if the decision is made that he shouldn't fight anymore.
As for now, all that's known for sure is that the February bout between Haye and Fury has been called off because of the shoulder injury.
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