UKTV’s Dave lands David Haye comeback fight

UKTV has landed the exclusive UK rights for former boxing world champion David Haye’s long-awaited comeback fight. The match will be shown on UKTV’s flagship free-to-air entertainment channel, Dave, live from the O2 on Saturday 16th January at 9pm.

“I’m so happy to be stepping back into the ring with my hometown crowd behind me. It’s been a long time out, with many ups and downs, but ‘The Hayemaker’ is finally back, and ready to do what I do best. I’m a young 35, in boxing terms, and still have my explosive speed and punching power. I’m looking forward to putting on a great show for the fans on ‘Haye Day’ at The O2 on January 16 and I’m delighted that my first fight in three and a half years is going to be available free to air on Dave giving as many people as possible the chance to watch my comeback. I was determined to make this comeback fight free to everybody and fans should sit back and get ready for another fun-fuelled ride as I look to regain the heavyweight championship of the world.” – David Haye

David Haye, the former world champion in two different weight categories, is returning to professional boxing with a heavyweight bout against Australia’s Mark De Mori. Haye’s comeback fight will be his first since defeating Dereck Chisora at Upton Park over three years ago and sees Haye take on a top 10 WBA ranked heavyweight in De Mori, who boasts a record of 30 wins (26 KOs), and only one defeat, since turning pro in 2004. De Mori is undefeated since September 2004 and most recently claimed a first round knock-out of Germany’s Marcel Zeller in October.

In addition to the live match, Dave is also showing a special half-hour preview show Haye v De Mori: The Countdown, the night before, on Friday 15th January at 8pm featuring the build up to the fight, the story of the preparation and the reason why David wants to stage a comeback.

Live Boxing: David Haye v Mark De Mori will be shown live from the O2 and has been ordered by UKTV director of commissioning Richard Watsham and Dave general manager Steve North. The two-hour special (9pm – 11pm) will include highlights from the day’s boxing at the O2, music from DJ Driis (aka actor Idris Elba) and Rudimental, live studio discussions plus all the action from the ringside.

“We are quickly establishing UKTV as a network able to handle attention grabbing live events, from the Python’s last ever performance – Monty Python Live (Mostly) for Gold through Really’s Halloween spectacular Most Haunted Live to Dave’s ratings success, the Red Bull Soapbox Race. Our ambition continues to grow in terms of the variety and quality of our programming and appointment to view TV remains at the top of our wish list.” – Richard Watsham

The Hayemaker, who is widely recognised as one of the best British boxers of all time, was the first British boxer to become a unified cruiserweight champion in 2008, winning three out of the four major world titles, as well as The Ring magazine title. Haye then moved up to heavyweight and won the WBA title in 2009 after defeating Russian giant Nikolai Valuev and in the process became only the second boxer in history to have unified the cruiserweight titles and won a heavyweight world championship.

David Haye takes on Mark de Mori at The O2 on January 16th. For tickets to #HayeDay visit axs.com or watch the fight exclusively live on Dave from 9pm. The preview show, Haye v De Mori: The Countdown will air on Friday 15th January at 8pm on Dave. #HayemakerIsBack