Doctors have advised former heavyweight world champion David Haye to retire following surgery to reconstruct his right shoulder in Germany on Thursday morning.
The 33-year-old released a statement on his official website ruling himself out of a rescheduled bout with Tyson Fury on February 8.
The fight had already been postponed once after the former WBA champion suffered a nasty cut above his eye in the final week of sparring ahead of their September 28 date.
"I genuinely believed the shoulder injury wasn't that bad, but the doctor sent me for a detailed MRI scan and within 24 hours I was told the full extent of the damage," the 33-year-old told Hayemaker.com.
"It's a crushing blow for me. I had big plans for next year and the ultimate goal was to win back the world heavyweight title, something my amazing fans deserve.
"What I didn't anticipate was that this year would be the unluckiest of my career and that a number of injuries would disrupt my plans so much. Perhaps it just wasn't meant to be. The boxing Gods keep hinting that maybe enough is enough and that it's time to finally hang up my gloves."
Haye initially retired following his defeat to Wladimir Klitschko in 2011, but he returned to the ring to beat Dereck Chisora last year.
David Haye undergoes shoulder surgery. Management team says he's been told to consider retiring. Hayemaker pic pic.twitter.com/5RI3qvfGKH
— Rob Harris (@RobHarris) November 17, 2013
Michael Penkman
