David Haye will consider retirement after his career was left in ruins following his dramatic defeat by Tony Bellew.

The former WBA heavyweight champion proved shot beyond doubt when, in their rematch at London’s O2 Arena, he was dropped three times before being stopped in the fifth round.

At 37 Haye’s punch resistance and once fine footwork was gone, and to the extent that he struggled and became desperate from the moment Bellew landed the explosive right hand that changed their fight in the third round.

He had previously recognised he would have no choice but to retire if he again lost to a fighter who was a light-heavyweight when he was a world champion and at his peak, and will struggle to secure the financial opportunities his reputation once demanded.

Under his new trainer Ismael Salas and until the first knockdown he was winning and had improved on the poor performance he had produced when losing last March.

But, of his future, he told talkSPORT: “I’ll have to go back and review exactly what happened then make a decision. It’s never good to make a decision when everything is up in the air.

“Tony boxed better than I did, plain and simple, and the better man won.

“Nobody can say they didn’t get a good night’s entertainment. They definitely got their money’s worth, but the better man won on the night, Tony Bellew, so congratulations to him.”

Bellew's promoter Eddie Hearn was amongst the first people to congratulate the victor inside the ring but in an interview with IFL TV after the fight, he also revealed a conversation he had with Haye during the post-fight celebrations for his opponent.

And Hearn divulged that despite suffering defeat in what could have been his last ever fight, Haye was in a surprisingly positive mood and said he actually quite liked being part of it.

"You know what, he came up to me after and he said: 'I loved that!' he really enjoyed that!" Hearn said.

"It was a tear up wasn't it?

"Even when he was hurt at the end they were trading up and I was thinking: 'If Tony cops one here it's over'"

There's no doubting Haye's heart but his last two outings have shown that age has really caught up with him. Mentally, he will be more than prepared to continue but physically, his time might be up.