'I'm a British Boxing Legend - Now My Son Could Be the Next Big Thing at Arsenal'

· GiveMeSport

The Arsenal academy now have a son of a former boxing champion on their books.

We often see kids follow their parents' career paths, and it happens in the world of sport too. Footballers Peter and Kasper Schmeichel are both Premier League winners, who have over 100 caps for Denmark, while in the boxing world, Chris Eubank and his son, Jnr, alongside Nigel Benn and his son Conor, have continued a feud over a number of generations.

It is, however, rare to see the child of a well-known sports person take on another sporting path, but that looks to be the case with Arsenal 's latest recruit.

The son of a former heavyweight and cruiserweight world champion has joined the Arsenal academy , and will be part of the under 13 side. Although a long way to go before making it in the world of football , having a father who has competed at the pinnacle of a sport will, of course, be a big help.

Kingston Haye, son of former unified cruiserweight and WBA heavyweight champion David Haye , has signed for the Gunners after impressing coaches with his skills on the pitch and his listening off it.

David Haye's professional boxing record

- 32 fights - 28 wins - 4 losses - By knockout - 26 - 3 - By decision - 2 - 1

David won the heavyweight title by defeating the giant Nikolai Valuev and retained the title twice before losing on points to Wladimir Klitschko . He continued his career for a few years until back-to-back defeats to Tony Bellew . He then moved onto the promotion side of boxing, helping rejuvenate former opponent Derek Chisora 's career.

David spoke proudly about his son after he won the Player of the Year award for Sutton United's U11's. He wrote: "I am incredibly proud of my son, Kingston. At just 10 years old, he has won the Under 11’s Sutton Player of the Year award. He is part of an excellent team at Sutton, which has been instrumental in teaching him the essential fundamentals to one day reach his full potential."

The British boxing legend added:

> "Kingston is extremely dedicated and is pursuing his dream of becoming the world’s best footballer. Stay tuned!"

Hopefully, Kingston is able to fall back on his father's knowledge of the world of sport to help guide his footballing career. Although still a long way off making it as a professional footballer, being part of such a prestigious academy and having the right people beside him will hold him in good stead.

Kingston's displays for Sutton is said to have impressed scouts and earned him the switch to the Premier League champion's academy. In particular, his technical ability, vision and ball control caught the eye and he is regarded as a highly-promising talent.

Boxing doesn't appear to be on the cards for David's children as they are focused on other sports. While Kingston is looking to make a name for himself in football, his 18-year-old brother Cassius has taken up tennis and participated in the Spanish junior tennis circuit.

For Kingston, he's now a member of the esteemed Hale End academy which has been a hot bed for Premier League talent. Tony Adams, Ray Parlour, and Ashley Cole wrote their names in English football history back in the day, while modern-day stars like Bayern Munich forward Serge Gnabry, current Arsenal hero Bukayo Saka and wonderkid Max Dowman are carrying on the tradition.

David Haye has fought some of the biggest names in boxing, but one stood out to him when he had to name the hardest puncher.

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