British boxer David Haye pledges 10% of his next fight earnings to hospitalized Nick Blackwell

Middle weight division boxer, Nick Blackwell, remains in an induced coma following injury to the brain during his defeat by Chris Eubank Jr on Saturday. British boxer David Haye has pledged to donate 10% of his earnings from his next fight to Blackwell and his family.

David Haye's next fight against the unbeaten Kosovan Arnold Gjergjaj will be televised on a freeview platform and 10% of it's ticket proceedings will be donated to Blackwell to aid his recovery.


“I decided on this straightaway because of the reality of the situation now for Nick. It will be a miracle if the Boxing Board of Control ever allowed him to fight again with such a serious injury. His boxing career is almost certainly over. He has dedicated his life to the sport. I spoke to George Groves and Carl Froch who he worked with in sparring, and the guy is one of the toughest sparring partners around.” Haye added: “How is he going to earn his money now? He was an apprentice bricklayer. He still has bills to pay. When he comes round, not being able to do his job will make things difficult.” “I thought the least I could do is donate 10 per cent of the ticket sales to someone who has given so much. He gave everything in that fight. If he was a quitter in any way, shape, or form, if he didn’t put his life on the line in that fight, he would not be in hospital now. He is unfortunately a victim of his own strengths. He would have gone 12 rounds. Then it would have got really dangerous. I’m so pleased the referee and the doctor saw that something was not right. “It was touching to see Chris Eubank Snr worrying for the other guy. I have never seen compassion like it. Senior has been in exactly the same position his son was in. He has seen the signs. He’d been there before.” "Nick is only in that situation because he's so tough and is one of those boxers who goes out there and puts it on the line," Haye said at the London O2 Arena during a pre-fight press conference yesterday. "It feels nice to be back again and getting in the ring so soon. I said from the start I want to fight regularly and get some momentum back in my career," Haye said in his press conference today.

"My comeback fight was a big success in my eyes and next up I wanted an opponent who is bigger than me, undefeated and is fast and can move. The top guys in the division are all taller than me and so I wanted an opponent who is taller than me, so that I'm punching upwards and I've got that in Gjergjaj." Shane McGuigan, David Haye’s trainer, told Telegraph Sport on Wednesday night:

“’Nick’s always been incredible in the gym. I’ve known him since he was about 18. It’s terrible to see him in the situation he’s in now. He was having wars with George Groves in the gym and really putting it on him. He’s a phenomenal fighter.” “What happened is a tragic accident,” added McGuigan, who admitted it was difficult for a trainer to pull a fighter out of a contest if they did not feel hurt.

“You’re taking away their chances. The winner of that goes on to fight for a world title. They go on to make a fortune. The loser goes back to being in line for a British title.”