If anyone thought that airing David Haye’s comeback fight on Dave was just more witty banter, you won’t be laughing any more.
Some people were scathing about Hayemaker’s return to the ring against unknown Australian puncher Mark De Mori on the free-to-air comedy channel.
De Mori, who apparently learned his trade on YouTube, was never going to be the high calibre opponent that we’re used to seeing Haye come up against.
But the fact that boxing was back on TV and the appetite to see Haye challenging the heavyweight division’s biggest hitters once again proved to be a massive draw.
The fight may have only lasted 131 seconds, after the former two-weight world champion destroyed De Mori with a brutal knock-out, but the viewing figures for Dave were incredible.
At its peak, ‘Haye Day’ pulled in more than three million TV viewers. That’s more viewers than Channel 4 and just behind ITV on the prime time Saturday night slot.
The 02 Arena where the bout was staged sold out with a 16,000-strong crowd and there were a further 100,000 fans who streamed it live on YouTube.
“When we set out on this journey, the aim was to bring boxing back to as many people as possible and we have certainly done that,” Haye said.
“We worked relentlessly for the past seven weeks to put together an amazing event and I’m humbled that over three million people tuned in and 16,000 came down to arena to see me in action.
“This is just the beginning of the road back to regaining the heavyweight championship of the world.
“I’m thankful for all the support I’ve received so far and hope the fans stick with me because there is a lot more to come from the Hayemaker.”
There’s still a huge appetite for heavyweight boxing. Let’s hope there’s more from Haye on Dave.
