David Haye in the Championship

David Haye has taken the boxing world by storm over the past few years. The brash British fighter is a two-division champion and is one of the most talented fighters in any weight class. In addition to his great skills, and his already formidable career, he’s also known for his great athleticism, physique and his power. 

Haye began boxing professionally in 2002 as a cruiserweight, at the young age of 22. He progressed through the ranks quickly, although there was a setback when he lost to Carl Thompson in 2004. He returned to the ring just three months later, however, and by the end of 2005, David Haye had become the European cruiserweight champion. After that, he bested undefeated Giacobbe Fragomeni, among other fighters, and in 2007 he got a shot at the world championship title, against Jean Marc Mormeck.

In just his second heavyweight fight, he won a world championship at that class by defeating Nikolay Valuev. Since, he has defended the title on several occasions, and it seems like his dream of fighting a Klitschko and becoming the recognized heavyweight champion is finally within reach.

Haye is a supremely gifted athlete, but none of what he has accomplished would have been possible without putting in the hard work and training at the gym, and without utilizing the right training equipment and gear to help him along the way. At first, he had to cut weight to meet the cruiserweight limit of 200 lbs, and this presents its own challenges. It puts an even higher premium on training long and hard, and focusing on sweating down, as opposed to being able to complete more strength training, eat the right kinds of foods, and focus on tactics.

Now he didn’t need to cut weight, but he did have to add significant muscle and strength while retaining his speed and staying lean. Although it looks like Haye could have been a great bodybuilder, boxing isn’t just about lifting weights and developing a sculpted physique. Instead, in order to become champion, Haye had to train rigorously, using bodyweight exercises and traditional boxing equipment such as pull-up bars and medicine balls to create his muscle and explosive body strength.

David Haye has said he wants to retire at a relatively young age, so it remains to be seen how many more times we’ll get to see him fight, and what else he will accomplish. But being a two-division champion isn’t a bad start. For Haye, from cruiserweight up to heavyweight.