By John F. McKenna (McJack): Former World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight champion David Haye who announced his retirement on his 31st birthday Thursday as promised is now looking at starting an acting career. “The Hayemaker” as his fans call him ended his career with a respectable record of 25 wins, 2 losses and 23 KO’s.

Haye was a former cruiserweight champion and was impressive fighting in that division. David moved up to heavyweight after it was becoming more and more difficult for him to make the weight at cruiserweight. He won the WBA heavyweight title in November 2009 when he defeated the giant Nikolai Valuev.

Haye had bowed out of a title unification fight in June of 2009 against heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko due to an unspecified injury. Later in the summer of 2009 “The Hayemaker” backed out of a fight with WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. After bowing out of the fight with Vitali, Haye inked a contract to fight Valuev.

Eventually after much haggling and numerous missteps a fight between Wladimir Klitschko and Haye was arranged for July 2. It was the most heavily hyped fight in at least a decade in the heavyweight division, which at one time was the glamour division in boxing. The fight was the first heavyweight title fight in years to be aired by cable giant HBO.

Haye did a lot to generate world wide interest in his fight with Vladimir and interest in the heavyweight division was aroused for the first time in many years. Many boxing fans and boxing insiders gave Haye a good chance of defeating Klitschko. Haye’s performance against Wladimir however, was disappointing to say the least. The fight came no where close to living up to its pre fight hype.

It is not clear what David Haye’s long term ambitions are, although he has indicated in the past that he wanted to pursue an acting career. Haye is not the first fighter who wanted to go into entertainment after retiring. The legendary Sugar Ray Robinson, pursued a dancing career when he retired for the first time in 1952 at the age of 32. Robinson had held the welterweight crown then moved up in class to win the middleweight title against Jake Lamota in the thrilling “St.

Valentine’s Day massacre on February 14, 1951. He attempted to step up in class yet again to light heavyweight to challenge title holder Joey Maxim on June 25, 1952 and collapsed from the effects of the heat in his corner after the 13th round.

Robinson’s dancing career did not go as he had planned. At first the crowds came to watch him dance for the sheer novelty. But over time the crowds dwindled to the point that he had to return to the ring in 1955. By that time Robinson was just a shell of his former self having already had 135 fights. The point is Robinson had everything going for him. He had charisma good looks and a great personality and even though he was known as “The Dancing Master” in the ring he could pull not it off on stage as a dancer. The novelty eventually wore off and as his son noted years later in an ESPN interview, “My father was no Fred Astair.”

Going all the way back to the immortal John L. Sullivan fighters have attempted careers on stage or in some form of entertainment. It very rarely works.