David Haye looks to have fallen just short of his attempt to break the record for largest ever boxing lesson, but that didn’t stop the former heavyweight champion labelling the event a huge success.

Haye led a class of more than 350 enthusiasts at Dubai Sports World in a bid to break the existing benchmark of 498 listed by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Organisers were unable to confirm the exact number of participants at the World Trade Centre, and said they still intend to send the video off to be scrutinised.

But regardless of whether a new record has been set, Haye was delighted to have raised money for a good cause with each entrant’s 30dh fee going to the Rashid Pediatric Centre for disabled children.

He said: “I’d love to break the record, but even if it doesn’t, the fact we got so many people down here and we raised a lot of money and a lot of awareness for the Rashid Centre and for boxing, I think it’s great.

“If I do or don’t break the record, I’d love to make this an annual thing, maybe have more people or do a different type of session. But there’s a lot of different ways we could do it.

“If this is the first one and it shows you how good it can be this time, next time these guys will tell everybody they know how much fun it was and we’ll have record numbers next time.”

The 40-minute boxing lesson featured the ‘Hayemaker’ directing people on boxing techniques, with a warm up and warm down to kick-off and conclude the session.

“Boxing is very new over here so it’s nice to get so many people down here and give teach them the basics of boxing. It’s not about fighting each other. It’s just all about enjoyment and learning a sport. It’s really fun to see the little kids who are holding their concentration all the way through,” he added.

“I wasn’t here to try to hurt them or give them their toughest ever workout. It’s about teaching the basics of boxing and how boxing can be fun and how boxing can be used as a tool to exercise without getting hurt, without getting punched. It’s a non-contact way of getting in shape and getting healthy.”

Haye is currently preparing for a comeback following shoulder surgery. He is set for his first fight back in London in September or October but again stated his desire to fight in Dubai possibly before the end of the year.

“I’m contract free so I’m free to go wherever I want and wherever I choose to box, which is a rare situation,” Haye said. “I’m not bogged down or tied down by a television network, so I’m in good position to bring a big fight over here to Dubai.”