Haye puts away De Mori in first fight since 2012

David Haye waves to the crowd after beating Dereck Chisora during their international heavyweight boxing match at Upton Park stadium, London, Saturday, July 14, 2012. (Tom Hevezi/AP)

LONDON — Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye’s first fight in 3 1/2 years lasted barely two minutes when he knocked out Mark de Mori at the 02 Arena on Saturday.

Haye, returning from a career-threatening shoulder injury at his heaviest ever, finished off De Mori with combinations to the head, just 2 minutes, 11 seconds into the scheduled 10-rounder.

De Mori (30-2-2) was limited and sluggish, and the Australian was unable to show whether Haye (27-2, 25 KO) was ring rusty or had shortcomings. And Haye, whose popularity drew an impressive 16,000-strong crowd, revealed only that he’s capable of beating underwhelming opposition.

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.