Ex-British fighter David Haye has been getting back in shape post-retirement and is looking absolutely shredded after dropping some serious weight.
The former boxer and unified cruiserweight world champion put down his gloves back in 2018 after losing to Tony Bellew in their blockbuster rematch and despite returning for a successful comeback fight against Joe Fournier in 2021, it seems like his fighting days are finally behind him.
With that in mind, the once-leading British heavyweight has been doing what most other sports personalities do after they call it quits: relaxing and enjoying all the food and drink they’ve denied themselves for most of their careers.
However, after cultivating a bit of a belly in with his time off, the 42-year-old decided to whip himself back into shape, setting himself the challenge of getting himself back down to 10% body fat for 2023.
Fat to Fit in 8 weeks. 💪🏾
Stay tuned as I lose that unwanted unsightly belly and back fat before New Year!🎉 🤣😂
Target: Lose 12.5% Body Fat by Jan 1st 2023 🎯 Let’s get burning!!! 🔥🔥🔥
Showing his before photo on 7 November alongside images of his typical physique before tacking on the mass, the goal was to shed 12.5% body fat by the New Year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Moreover, he encouraged his followers to join him on his fitness journey by going to his website and setting their own fitness/weight loss challenges.
While he may have just missed his 1 January target, he still managed to get it done in only nine weeks — quite the achievement.
From 22.5% body fat to just 10 in a couple of months. Impressive stuff.
As he explains in the caption, he managed his rate of roughly 1.5% fat loss per week by “lowering carbs to between 30g-50g daily, very light training (2-4 times a week), intermittent fasting, nutrient loading” and, obviously, lots of water.
ADVERTISEMENT
No stranger to keeping fit and making the weight before a bout, Haye said it wasn’t hard, “it just took a little discipline and structure with times and volumes of food tracked.”
He went on to thank his “amazing ‘Accountability Team’ who crunched the numbers/calories keeping [him] updated on everything from nutrition, training, sleep, etc.”
From here on out, the plan is to keep building lean muscle, as well as “assisting people who want to make a change to their health and wellness, putting a sustainable customised structure in place, to guide them all the way through, until their health goals are met, and beyond.”
Haye, we’ll cheers (a healthy glass of water, of course) to that — well in, Dave.
Super League ‘Rivals Round’ fixtures confirmed, with two big North West clashes
Danny Jones
The Betfred Super League (BSL) ‘Rivals Round’ games for 2026 have been confirmed, with two big regional clashes coming in time for the spring.
Returning for 2026, the annual meeting of multiple teams coming up against their fiercest and most historic rivals will land on round seven of the calendar over the traditional Easter weekend.
Despite the competition having sadly lost Salford Red Devils following their forced relegation, local rugby fans will still be glad to see the borough of Wigan, as well as neighbouring Cheshire and nearby Merseyside clubs, coming up against each other in what is a highly anticipated fixture on the calendar.
Announcing the now fully confirmed matches this week, the total of seven matches are set to be played between Friday, 3 April and the following Sunday, 5 April.
In the Super League’s own words, there are few gameweeks more box office than the Rivals Round – “where the games mean more, hit harder and have the ability to divide towns and families.”
After the inaugural edition of the modern round in 2021, this year saw the division record a best-ever attendance of 86,080 across a six-match period, and with an extra game being played next season, we’re expecting more ground to be broken.
“The most intense and historic rivalries will go head-to-head with huge crowds anticipated, emotions running high and everyone expected to bring their A game”, say the BSL.
Huddersfield Giants v York Knights – Saturday, 4 April
Castleford Tigers v Wakefield Trinity – Sunday, 5 April
One of the most notable exclusions among the slate, of course, is that of Salford Red Devils, as various players and staff members continue to leave the club during this increasingly concerning and deep period of uncertainty.
Salford supporters have given a clear response following the decisive drop in IMG gradings:
Although they are now longer in rugby league’s premier domestic tier, Salford are still expected to take part in the Challenge Cup tournament, which begins in January.
Betfred and the RFL revealed the most recent ties on Monday, 24 November, with the Devils due to face either Royal Navy Rugby or Hammersmith Hills Hoists in the second round.
Meanwhile, with the new campaign kicking off in February, rugby fans will only have to wait a couple of months to witness the upcoming instalments in the various rivalries.
Safe to say it’s going to be a spicy Easter break.
Pep Guardiola admits heavily rotated squad was ‘too much’ after landmark home loss
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has conceded that his heavily rotated side, which saw almost an entirely different team from the previous matchday squad, may have been “too many changes” as Manchester City suffered their first home loss in the Champions League group stages in more than seven years.
Man City suffered a 2-0 defeat whilst hosting Bayer Leverkusen at the Etihad Stadium – a place that has been largely a fortress in European fixtures since the Catalan coach arrived – but the biggest headline on the night was the whopping 10 personnel changes Guardiola made to his starting XI.
It has been argued that Pep has become overly reliant on star striker Erling Haaland (who has already scored 19 goals in the Premier League and UCL combined this season), and the virtually ‘start-from-scratch’ outfit he fielded on Tuesday night definitely didn’t do him any favours.
Speaking to various media in post-match interviews and the press conference after the game, Pep admitted that his wholesale rotation gamble may have been “too much.”
"Maybe it was too much…"
Pep Guardiola reflected on Man City's home defeat to Bayer Leverkusen after making 10 changes 🔁 pic.twitter.com/WBZHwl3ZOb
Considering the only continuity between the batch that faced Leverkusen and the previous squad that narrowly lost to Newcastle United was the still relatively new CDM, Nico González, we think he might be on to something.
In fact, as if the conviction behind the decision wasn’t already questionable enough, Pep insisted before the game that he would have made more if he could, but with fellow central midfielder talisman Rodri still injured, the number 14 was the sole teammate who remained from the weekend.
There are always going to be lapses in sharpness and fluidity when a lineup is shuffled, but it’s fair to say that it’s almost guaranteed when you remove every individual bar one.
Perhaps this was a somewhat covert/loaded attempt to shine a light again on previously mentioned complaints regarding squad depth in relation to the increasingly congested fixture list, with both Guardiola and the aforementioned Euro 2020 winner having flagged their concerns about the calendar.
This is also the second time in just a matter of days that the 54-year-old has held his hands up and taken accountability for making “huge mistakes”.
Not only was it City’s first Champions League loss of the season, but as mentioned, the first and at home in the competition’s initial stages in more than half a decade.
It’s quite a record that Pep has clung onto, which should get plenty of recognition in its own right, but supporters will nevertheless be hoping to get back to winning ways soon and avoid stringing together any more consecutive losses.
Last November was the first time Guardiola had ever lost four matches in a row during his entire career, and with a trio of very winnable fixtures coming up in the league, we would bank on a big reaction in the next game against Leeds.
If you missed the game, you can watch the highlights from Man City vs Bayer Leverkusen down below.