David Haye confirms ring comeback but has no opponent

He tried to goad the WBA heavyweight champion into a fight after his fifth-round knockout of Chisora, but the Russian refused to bite, leaving Haye to admit “it looks like I won’t box again”. However, that notion was short-lived, and less than a year later the former undisputed cruiserweight world champion and his manager Adam Booth are plotting his way to the top.

“I hoped Vitali would be a man of his word after I made short work of Chisora. It fell on deaf ears. Their strategy doesn’t include me this year, so instead of waiting around I want to get back in there.

“I think Vitali wants to fight me, but the people around him don’t. His coach definitely doesn’t want it. He has too much invested in him to be the Mayor of Kiev – he’s a puppet.”

Booth revealed he is in talks with five fighters, all undefeated, for the comeback on June 29 at the Manchester Arena, but none is British, ruling out a domestic bout with Tyson Fury.

The unlikely reality TV star, who finished third in ‘I’m A Celebrity . . .Get Me Out Of Here!’, will hope for a better result than compatriot Ricky Hatton, who came out of retirement last November only to be cruelly undone by Vyacheslav Senchenko. But Haye insists he is in good shape despite a long time out.

He continued: “I don’t believe in ring rust. I’m back in training, and I’m not a worse fighter for it. I’m back in the game until I unify the championship, and if I can’t get myself in a mandatory position I’ll be very surprised.”