Haye’s right shoulder was operated on in Germany following an incident in training that ultimately ended hopes of fighting Tyson Fury, before doctors advised the Londoner that retirement may be the better option.
Despite the initial fears, Haye continued to progress with his rehabilitation and now believes his body is well equipped to deal with the punishment of professional boxing on the back of confirming a clash with WBA-ranked Mark de Mori.
“I’m not battling injuries now. I’m focusing on my opponent, getting better and becoming more complete as a fighter. Before, I was just trying to get through a session without my body breaking down,” Haye exclusively told World Boxing News.
“People think it’s a bad thing that I’ve had all this time off – three and a half years, but for me it’s just given my body time to recover and rejuvenate. I’ll be fresh because I haven’t been taking any punches.
“I had an operation, but that operation was a one hundred percent success and now my right shoulder is better than it was before the operation. That will show because I’ve always had big power.
“As far as I’m concerned my punch power is through the roof and unfortunately for de Mori, he’s going to be on the receiving end of that.”
At 35, Haye is ready to make up for lost time and regain a foothold at the top of the sport as talk of clashes with Fury, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder gather pace since the comeback announcement.
Nothing but an impressive performance will do for Haye, especially following Fury’s win over Klitschko, as ‘The Hayemaker’ adds even more spice to a division which has exploded into life in the past few days.
Tickets for David Haye v Mark de Mori on January 16 at the O2 Arena in London are available here from axs.com
