By Audley Harrison

One fighter who could stop Anthony Joshua’s march to the top is David Haye, a former opponent, rival and long-term comrade, who I’m proud to say is a friend once more.

We haven’t seen David in a ring since July 2012, when he dismantled Derek Chisora by TKO in their highly anticipated grudge match, following a mass brawl at a press conference in Munich to announce Klitschko vs Chisora.

David showed the concussive power that has brought him 24 KOs in 26 bouts, landing a powerful combination to end things abruptly in the fifth round. Scheduled matches with British trash-talker and soon-to-be world title challenger, Tyson Fury, have fallen through on two occasions due to injuries suffered by Haye, with the last one occurring 5 days before the bout, when he suffered a cut above his eye resulting in stitches.

Soon after, Haye revealed he needed surgery to repair a ruptured muscle in his right shoulder and bicep, so he didn’t return to the ring and was advised to retire by his doctors.

I recently met with David and watched him work out and go through his paces…if anyone can derail AJ, I truly believe Haye has the experience, hunger and motivation to do so.

He has spent most of his career fighting bigger, stronger opponents, so if his body can hold up to the rigors of a full intensive training camp, I believe Joshua vs. Haye would be a big as they come, and Haye’s speed, power and experience could be the difference if it happens next year.

My advice to Haye would be – have a few warm-ups to shake off the ring rust and don’t let ‘Fast Eddie’ tempt you into a showdown until you’re ready!