David Haye has said he will be happy with the way his career panned out if Saturday's fight against Dereck Chisora proves to be his last.
Briton believes his legacy is secure without a Klitschko win
David Haye has said he will be happy with the way his career panned out if Saturday's fight against Dereck Chisora proves to be his last.
Vitali Klitschko remains the only meaningful fight left for the Briton but with the WBC champion set to bow out after taking on Manuel Charr on September 8, Haye also looks poised to quit for good.
The former WBA champion 'retired' after losing to Wladimir Klitschko last summer but after salvaging much of his reputation with a fifth round knockout of Chisora, this time it could be for good.
"If a fight with Vitali happens down the line, fantastic," said Haye. "If it doesn't then I've been undisputed cruiserweight champion of the world and a heavyweight champion of the world.
"I've achieved more than I anticipated I would do as a youngster. I'm happy with what I've done in the ring and it's nice to finish on such a high.
"When I retired after losing to Wladimir a year ago, it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
"But this time round after fighting in London in front of 30,000 of my fans, it really did put a smile on my face. If that's my last fight, it's one I'm very proud and happy of."
Natural
Klitschko, speaking in Moscow to publicise his clash with Manuel Charr on September 8, insisted Haye should have been his next opponent.
"David Haye was supposed to be at this press conference," Klitschko told Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
"He had a concrete offer for a fight in September and he refused. He turned down a fight with Vitali Klitschko in favour of one with Chisora."
Vitali's manager Bernd Boente said Klitschko is set to focus on a career in politics after fighting Charr, although he hasn't closed the door entirely on one more fight, possible against Haye.
And promoter Frank Warren is amongst those who believe Haye v Klitschko could still take place.
"It will happen, 100%, unless Vitali retires. If Dereck had won he'd have fought Wladimir, if David won he was going to fight Vitali," Warren said.
"Now David against Vitali is a natural fight. I was impressed with David against Chisora and he's made me change my opinion of him. David fights a lot off his back foot and if you do that against big guys, it suits their gameplan.
"But if you jump on them and get under that jab, the one thing they can't do is fight on the inside and deal with a high workrate.
"Vitali's an old guy now, he's 40 years of age, and Dereck's shown how he can be beaten."
