Ex-champ Lewis warns Haye
Lennox Lewis has warned David Haye against returning to the ring with a fight against either of the Klitschko brothers.
Haye lost his WBA heavyweight title to WBO and IBF champion Wladimir Klitschko last year when he was beaten on points; a defeat he blamed on a broken little toe.
The Londoner retired after the defeat but has vowed to return to fight Wladimir or his brother Vitali, who holds the WBC belt.
But Lewis, a former world heavyweight champion, says Haye ought to have two warm-up fights first.
"David should come out of retirement," said Lewis, speaking at the Laureus Awards in London on Monday.
"He should come back, but he should not think about the Klitschkos right now.
"He should beat a couple of other people, so people actually think: 'yeah, you know, he can do it this time; he can beat a Klitschko'.
"There is a lot of money for him on the table and that is important for any fighter. All he has to do it is jump in there against one of the Klitschkos and take it, but he should have a couple of different fights first.
"If he beats a couple of other fighters first, he could build himself back up."
The 40-year-old Vitali will take on unheralded Londoner Dereck Chisora, 28, in Munich on February 18.
Lewis, the last man to beat Vitali, nine years ago, said Chisora could surprise the Ukrainian, even though he has lost his last two fights.
"Vitali is very good but Chisora has a chance," said Lewis. "He is a heavyweight. All it takes is one punch on the chin to win.
"I always say if you walk into the ring, you have to get wet. If Klitschko is in the fight, in the ring, and he gets punched, there is a chance that he might get hurt or knocked out. It will be an interesting fight."
Haye has accused the Klitschkos of making the heavyweight division boring. Lewis said: "You could say the division is in a poor state now.
"We are waiting for a great star to really take up the pace of boxing and put it right back up there."