Haye pulls out of Charr fight

David Haye (26-2) has been forced to pull out of his fight with Manuel Charr (23-1) on June 29 with a hand injury.

The damage to his left hand occured on Sunday evening and left the former WBA heavyweight champion with no option but to postpone his return to the ring.

"I'm absolutely gutted to have to pull out of this fight on June 29," he said. "I pick up injuries now and again in training, and sometimes carry it into the fight, but this was one I simply couldn't recover from in time. I need to rest it up for at least four weeks.

I apologise to Manuel Charr and to everyone involved in the promotion. But most of all I want to say sorry to the thosands of fans who bought tickets to the fight. I felt it was important to let them know about the cancelation as soon as possible, so they can now make other plans.

As soon as I am told I can resume full training, my loyal fans will be the first to know."

Haye, who has not fought since stopping Dereck Chisora last July, was hoping to fight twice this year in a bid to become mandatory challenger to face one of the Klitschko brothers.

Haye-Charr was due to headline a bill at the Manchester Arena featuring Gavin Rees against Anthony Crolla plus Lee Selby's latest outing, but the undercard will be moved to another show with full refunds available.