MANCHESTER, England, (Reuters) – David Haye retained his WBA world heavyweight title with a third round technical knockout against fellow Briton Audley Harrison today.
Both boxers were booed by the crowd at the MEN arena after a slow opening to the contest but Haye stepped up the pace in the third round, knocking Harrison down before launching another flurry of punches that forced the referee to stop the fight.
“I had a lot of money on the third round, so did a lot of my friends and family. I told everyone I would knock him out in three rounds and that’s what I did,” Haye said.
The fight, Haye’s second title defence, was seen as Harrison’s last chance to make amends for an underwhelming career following his Olympic gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Games but the challenger never got going.
Haye took the early initiative, although punches were at a premium leading to a chorus of boos from the crowd and a request from the referee for the boxers to get on with the fight.
Haye did just that with his speed and power proving too much for Harrison in the third when the challenger hit the canvas and took an eight count before facing another barrage of punches.
