David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amateur Boxing Championships, where he won a silver medal in 2001. As a professional, Haye became a unified cruiserweight world champion in 2008, winning three of the four major world titles, as well as the Ring magazine and lineal titles. He was ranked by BoxRec as the world's No.1 cruiserweight from 2005 to 2007, and was also ranked within ten best in 2003 and 2004. In 2008 he moved up to heavyweight, winning the WBA title in 2009 after defeating Nikolai Valuev, who had a size advantage of in height and in weight over Haye. Along with Evander Holyfield and Oleksandr Usyk, Haye is one of only three boxers in history to have unified the cruiserweight world titles and become a world heavyweight champion. As of September 2021, BoxRec ranks Haye as the 12th greatest British fighter of all time. Haye founded his own boxing promotional firm, Hayemaker Promotions, in 2008. He became a vegan in 2014 and launched his own range of vegan protein powder later that year. Early life David Deron Haye was born in the Bermondsey area of London on 13 October 1980, to a white English mother and a black Jamaican father. He grew up in Bermondsey for most of his childhood, and attended Bacon's College in Rotherhithe. Amateur career At the age of eighteen, Haye competed in the light-heavyweight division at the 1999 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Houston, Texas. He knocked out then-ABA light-heavyweight champion Courtney Fry, but missed out on the 2000 Sydney Olympics after a controversial defeat in the qualifier in which he was eliminated by experienced American Michael Simms early in the contest. At the 2001 World Championshsips in Belfast, Haye fought in the heavyweight division where he defeated Sebastian Köber to reach the final. In this bout he managed to score a standing eight count against Odlanier Solís, but was later stopped by the Cuban in round three to earn a silver medal. Haye's amateur record was 83–13. Professional career Early career at cruiserweight Based in Bermondsey, Haye turned professional in December 2002, aged 22. In his first fight he defeated Tony Booth via second-round corner retirement (RTD). In