Britain's former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye has admitted that the door is still open for a fight with either of the Klitschko brothers, as far as he is concerned. 

Although Haye officially retired on his 31st birthday earlier this month, and has since stated that he intends to carve out a career in Hollywood as an action hero, he said at a press conference to mark the release of an authorized biography 'Making Haye' that ''only time will tell'' if he makes a return to the ring to tackle one of the Ukrainian giants who currently hold all four of the world title belts in the heavyweight division.

''You never know, there's always another chapter, whether it's me retiring and you never hear from me again, or because I go out there and become a big success with the acting. It's the end of one chapter and there are plenty of chapters to come in the rest of my life.''

"Only time will tell whether the Klitschkos need me more than I need them. They won't believe that. But it depends what they want out of boxing. If they want guaranteed easy victories then they can do what they've always done but if they want a tough challenge you'd think they would want to beat down my door.''

Handsome, articulate and often controversial, Haye brought some much needed excitement to the heavyweight division when he began campaigning there after unifying the cruiserweight class in 2008. It also soon became clear that Haye was quite willing to break new ground when it came to promoting a fight. 

Whether it be describing 7'2" 320 lb Russian giant Nikolay Valuev as an ''ugly, smelly, hairy beast'' while punching the head off a life-size cardboard cutout, or wearing a T-shirt displaying an image of himself holding the severed heads of Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, or most notorious of all, claiming his WBA title defense against Audley Harrison would be ''as one-sided as a gang rape,'' Haye was clearly a master of self-promotion on a par with Muhammad Ali. His fights sold out huge venues, and attracted record pay-per-view figures. 

Haye's performances in the ring had been increasingly impressive at cruiserweight, particularly in his thrilling come-from-behind seventh round knockout over Jean Marc Mormeck to win the WBA and WBC cruiserweight belts, and his sensational two round blitzkrieg over Enzo Maccarinelli to add the WBO title to his collection.

As a heavyweight, Haye's ring appearances were somewhat hit and miss. He was explosive yet easy to hit in his fifth-round TKO over Monte Barrett in 2008, and showed his negative side when running away from Nikolay Valuev for 12 rounds to steal the WBA heavyweight title in December 2009.

He looked ragged yet powerful in bludgeoning former two-time WBA heavyweight champion John Ruiz to defeat in nine rounds in April 2010, but was at his most poised and purposeful against the petrified Audley Harrison in a three round mismatch seven months later. 

Although Harrison barely threw a punch during the 8 minutes the fight lasted, Haye, at a rock hard 210 lbs, looked to have discovered the blueprint of the exact blend of speed and power that would be needed to defeat either of the hulking, six-and-a-half-foot tall, 250 lb plus Klitschko brothers. 

It was therefore a massive disappointment when despite weighing in at exactly the same body weight as he had for the Harrison fight, and looking in the same superb condition, Haye chose to box on the retreat for 12 rounds when he finally met Wladimir Klitschko in a unification fight in Germany this July, barely throwing a punch in anger.

Haye was universally derided for his performance, although in fairness, Klitschko himself deserved his fair share of criticism, as despite having all of the physical advantages, he was overly cautious of Haye's punching power and rarely committed himself to a genuine attack.

Despite such a disappointing performance, Haye still has an awful lot to give to boxing in general and the heavyweight division in particular. He declared some time ago his intention to retire on his 31st birthday, and he has stuck by that decision - for now. 

If his acting lessons pay off, and he can in the near future command multi-million-dollar paychecks to star in Hollywood action movies, he will have no need to ever set foot in a boxing ring again. However, for every Vinnie Jones, there is a Stan Collymore (Basic Instinct 2 anyone?), and the chances of Haye making a lucrative career in movies is slim at best. 

His record currently stands at 25 wins, 23 by KO, with just two losses.

"The two defeats were completely different because against Carl Thompson (in 2004) I was unprepared, both mentally and physically and there was a lot more I could have done, whereas the fight with Wladimir was completely different," Haye said. "It didn't go my way against Klitschko. It was one of those fights. I lost a points decision and it is what it is. I did the best I could and I've got to live with that."

However, for the moment at least, Haye claims he is enjoying his retirement: "I'm definitely not getting itchy feet just yet," he said. "I'm keeping busy, catching up with friends and family, having a rest and taking it easy. I'm enjoying life and enjoying all the things I wasn't able to while I was a competitive boxer." 

Making Haye: The Authorized David Haye Story by Elliot Worsell is published by Quercus (hardback, £18.99).