David ‘The Hayemaker’ Haye is a world class fighter, no doubt about that. But he has made in the eyes of many, a strangely rapid amount of progress in the IBF world heavyweight rankings following two wins against low caliber opposition since his return to the sport, after a three plus year layoff.

Haye has fought twice in 2016 so far, knocking out both New Zelander Marc de Mori and Kosovo’s Arnold Gjergjaj, both at the O2 Arena – both on free to air Channel Dave.

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Although he has come in for some flack online for taking on competition he was clearly always going to beat, despite the extended hiatus from the sport, the IBF don’t see things this way and have placed him just behind Kubrat Pulev and Joseph Parker in their last world rankings for their title that is currently held by Britain’s Anthony Joshua:

David Haye Surges Up To IBF — *Source: IBF website*

Haye (28-2-26KO) is slated to next fight American Shannon Briggs later this year and a win against Briggs could in theory, place him very close to a number one contender spot for IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.

In recent days and weeks Haye has also been linked with a possible fight with newly crowned WBC cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew – following an ongoing war of words on social media.

For those who didn’t see it, here’s the moment Haye closed the show in his last bout:

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