David Haye names the one boxer he regrets not fighting in his glittering career

Vitali Klitschko is the one who got away from David Haye.

Back in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the pair were on a collision course.

Haye waged war on Vitali and his brother Wladimir after jumping up to boxing’s glamour division in 2008 in the wake of unifying the WBA, WBC and WBO cruiserweight belts.

Vitali had always been the primary target, and both camps quickly moved to make a fight after Haye halted Monte Barrett inside five rounds in his second outing at heavyweight.

Everything appeared to be moving in the right direction.

Contracts were close to being signed for a bout on September 12, 2009 at Frankfurt’s 52,000-seater Commerzbank Arena.

However, a disagreement over the purse split resulted in talks dramatically collapsing.

There were multiple attempts to get the fight back on, particularly after Haye was beaten by Wladimir in 2011, but it never came to fruition.

Over a decade later, Haye candidly admits to talkSPORT.com that the biggest regret of his glittering career was not sharing the ring with the older Klitschko brother.

“The one I always wanted was Vitali Klitschko,” said Haye.

“That was always the big one. But it never happened, and I regret that.

“He beat so many guys around the era, and he was a big, strong guy who kept coming forward.

Getty - Contributor

“He’s not like his brother Wladimir, who is happy to win behind the jab.

“Vitali wants to damage you; he wants to come in and have a punch-up.

“And for that reason, I think our styles would have gelled nicely.

“A lot of people assume it would have been Tyson Fury, but remember, when I was due to fight Tyson he hadn’t done anything at that stage.

“Looking back years later, obviously that would have been a mega fight, but he was just a prospect whereas Vitali had a legacy.

“I’d have loved to share the ring with him, but we couldn’t reach an agreement.”

Watch Boxing on DAZN

*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue

Sign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.

Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.

Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.

Click here to sign up.