By John F. McKenna (McJack): Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye (25-2, 23 KO’s) is receiving what some fans think he needs more than anything else, that being a dose of humble pie.

Since his one sided defeat at the hands of Wladimir Klitschko (56-3, 49 KO’s) on Saturday night in their title unification fight Haye has been hearing it and hearing it at home in his native England. The criticism has been over whelming, mostly because of how confident and brash David had been in describing what he was going to do to his conqueror Vladimir Klitschko prior to their fight.

The criticism started when Wladimir Klitschko, the Ring Magazine champion and holder of five championship belts, branded the “Hayemaker” a poor loser. Then Klitschko manager Bernd Boente ridiculed Haye for demanding a rematch.

The unkindest cut of all though, as reported in Ring Magazine, came from the British media. By Monday morning the criticism in the press had reached a fever pitch, with headlines labeling Haye anything from ‘hero to zero’ to ‘crybaby’. You name it, the headlines screamed it. Scathing would be an understatement.

The general feeling is that Haye is a big mouth who fully deserves what he gets for his disappointing passive performance on Saturday night after all the bravado and trash talking that he had uttered.

At this point the only person being trash talked is David Haye himself and he fully understands why. “If you hype the fight as much as me and someone talks as much trash talk as I do, if it doesn’t go your way, then you have to expect people to put the boot in,” Haye conceded on BBC Live Five.

“That’s why I’m here. Feel free to have a pop at me. I give it all the big talk. I talk the talk, but on Saturday night I did not walk the walk. You have to take the rough with the smooth. It’s the only way. You can’t just take the accolades when things go well. When it doesn’t you have to take the lumps.”

Then Haye made an apology to his army of supporters who wasted a trip to Germany, after which he tipped his hat to Wladimir Klitschko. David acknowledged that Wladimir Klitschko is a good fighter and that he was the better man on Saturday night. Haye went on to say that Vladimir Klitschko got where he is by being a very good and disciplined fighter.

No blaming the referee or an injured toe for his loss. Those words coming from David Haye, I must admit come as a refreshing surprise. Many boxing fans had thought that David would continue to make excuses for his loss. It remains to be seen whether or not Haye will retire in October as promised. More than likely he will want to go out on a winning note.