By Sean McDaniel: WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (24-1, 22 KO’s) has said repeatedly to anyone that cares to listen that he plans on hanging up his boxing gloves next year at the ripe old age of 31, in October 2011. Haye, for some odd reason, is paranoid about sticking around too long in the sport and ending up like a lot of washed up fighters taking punishment and serving as fodder for the young lions.

However, to avoid that from happening, Haye is going to the extreme of retiring at 31. It’s something he promised to do as a teenager and now that he’s made some money in fights with Nikolay Valuev and John Ruiz, he plans on getting out in the next year. Haye has a fight coming up with Audley Harrison in November, but this isn’t the type of fighter that Haye said he said he would be taking on when he moved up to the heavyweight division.

From appearances, it seems that all Haye is concerned about is making money and getting out of the sport before he starts taking losses. It would be nice if he were more focused on establishing a lasting legacy by taking on the Klitschko brothers, who considered to be the best heavyweights in the division.

Perhaps Haye might still end up fighting them, but it doesn’t seem like he’s eager to make that happen anytime soon. Haye was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for the heavyweight division, but he’s turned out to be a huge disappointment. But if Haye retires next year without having faced the Klitschkos and having fought only guys like Harrison, Ruiz, Monte Barrett, Valuev and maybe Ruslan Chagaev, I think he’s going to wind up being ridiculed even worse than he is already.