David Haye vs. Mark De Mori: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info
David Haye makes his return to the ring on Saturday, with the two-weight world champion taking on Mark de Mori at the O2 Arena in London.
Englishman Haye (26-2, 24 KOs) has not fought since knocking out Dereck Chisora in July 2012. A shoulder injury seemed to have ended his career, but now the 35-year-old is fully fit and ready for a comeback.
He is also serving as his own promoter, with the bout being shown live by television channel Dave. It is an unlikely marriage that could end up being analysed in greater depth than the actual fight itself.
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Opponent De Mori is an Australian with a 30-1-2 (26 KOs) record. He has been a world champion of sorts, winning the WBF title in 2013.
When: Saturday Jan. 16, 9 p.m. GMT (4 p.m. ET)
Where: O2 Arena, London
TV: Dave (UK)
Live Stream: SkyGo (UK—subscription required)
Welcome Boost
Whatever your opinion of Haye, his return is a welcome boost to the British heavyweight scene.
The Hayemaker has talked about donning the gloves again on several occasions since shoulder surgery scuppered a second attempt to stage a bout with Tyson Fury in November 2013.
Time away has healed old wounds, and the Londoner couldn't be pitching himself back in at a better time.
While a fight with Fury is never likely to made again, considering Tyson's frustrations at Haye twice postponing contests between the pair, Anthony Joshua is an obvious opponent for later in 2016.
However, Haye insists he will not just fight on for the sake of it, per BBC Sport: "Unless I'm 100 per cent confident I can beat somebody, and become world champion, there's no point getting in the ring."
The former holder of the WBA strap insists he is not donning the gloves again just to top up his bank balance either.
His target is to get back to the top of the division, as he explained to Gareth A Davies of the Telegraph:
"My motivation is exactly the same as at the moment I knocked down Chisora: to be heavyweight champion of the world. Along the way, the money comes. Even if there was no money in boxing, this is what I would do, because this is what I'm meant to do. Some fights you don't earn big, but they can set up bigger paydays later on. This fight is about me getting back on the map and proving to the fans that I'm healthy and that I can do this.
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To help him achieve his goal, Haye hired Shane McGuigan as his new trainer. He has also teamed up with a television channel that can draw a bigger audience than the normal options for boxing coverage.
Haye has been smart in his work so far, but now is the time to find out if he can still produce the goods in the ring.
The Dominator
De Mori has had more bouts than Haye (33 to 26) but has never fought at the same level.
The Dominator—who was born in Perth, Australia, but is now based in Croatia—is hardly battle hardened. He fought for a grand total of five minutes and 15 seconds in 2015, as he recorded quick wins over Radenko Kovac and Marcel Zeller on German soil.
His career record is patchy—De Mori had seven bouts in 2004 but he then didn't appear in a ring again until 2006. He also fought just once in 2007, while 2010 saw him completely inactive.
He has been busier of late, and his knockout ratio of 79 per cent should not be completely overlooked by Haye.
Per Mike Walters of the Mirror, De Mori understands he has been selected for a reason: "I know my role here. I'm the guy who is supposed to make Haye look good before he goes on to fight Anthony Joshua.
"But I'm here to win and I will do whatever it takes to do it. I know I'm the other guy, the B side, but I'm here to knock David Haye out and write my own story."
How De Mori goes about the task of trying to cause an upset will be intriguing to see.
The temptation will be to charge at the rusty Haye, hoping to catch him cold early on. But, press too hard in the opening exchanges and he could walk into a big shot—and we know from past experiences that his opponent can hit hard.
A careful approach may make more sense, but it also allows Haye to size up the task at hand.
Prediction
Despite a long period of inactivity, Haye is a heavy favourite to win. Odds Shark prices him at 1/25, with De Mori at 10/1.
The bigger question is not over the outcome, but in what round the local boy gets the job done.
Don't be too late in turning over to Dave in the UK, as this could be short and sweet (unless you're De Mori). The returning Haye will want to impress, so expect a stoppage win inside the first two rounds.
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