Haye Signs With Golden Boy Promotions

Oscar De La Hoya's company, Golden Boy Promotions, has signed former Cruiserweight star David "Hayemaker" Haye (21-1, 20 KOs) to a 5 year deal in the Heavyweight division. Golden Boy Promotions will be the exclusive promoter when he fights in the United States, while his newly formed promotional company Hayemaker Productions will run the show within the United Kingdom.

Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer on Haye's Heavyweight Impact

"If you look at the heavyweight landscape, it is waiting for someone like David Haye to come along. He even has a strong female following like Oscar. He's very exciting in the ring. He knocks guys out and he gets dropped. If he can succeed at heavyweight, boxing fans around the world will have a heavyweight who can define the division and the sport."

Why David Chose Golden Boy Promotions

"It was a simple choice. It was really a one-horse race on who to sign with. I talked to Oscar and [Golden Boy fighters] Shane Mosley, Bernard Hopkins, even Ricky Hatton. They all said to me they are earning two, three, even four times as much as they were earning with anyone else. I wanted to get on board with that."

David Haye has a promotional company of his own which he calls Hayemaker Productions, which has already signed a deal with U.K. subscription network Setanta Sports to exclusively televise his next four bouts throughout Great Britain. Haye said, "I want to take over in the heavyweight division and become the leading promoter in the U.K. I want to do what Oscar and Golden Boy are doing. That has always been an ambition of mine."

David On His Heavyweight Impact

"I see myself at the top of the pile in the heavyweight division. There's only one guy out there and that's Wladimir Klitschko. That's who I have my eyes set on. He's the premier heavyweight on the planet right now and I am coming for him. It's always been my strategy to go after the best. I went after Jean-Marc Mormeck because he held the real Cruiserweight title, the Ring magazine title, and he was the linear champion. I want to go after the best at heavyweight, too."

"I'm the only big fight for him. Who else is he going to fight? That big hairy freak from Russia [Nikolai Valuev]? The guy who has hepatitis [titleholder Ruslan Chagaev]? He already beat Samuel Peter. There's nothing else out there for Klitschko. Fighting me is a no-brainer."

"I always give value for money and I am so excited I want to start training tomorrow for the November fight. I live and breathe boxing. I want to put heavyweight boxing back on the map. Heavyweight boxing is a joke right now. Nobody respects it. I will change the face of heavyweight boxing. I will be fighting legitimate opponents, guys in the top 10. I will not only beat them, I will obliterate them. I will fight a top name in November that Americans will respect and I will deliver a violent knockout win."

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