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POWER SHOTS: News and Views on the Heavyweight Division
by Johnny Walker
DEL BOY IS BACK
British bad boy heavyweight Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora (15-4, 9 KOs) is ready to make his return to the ring, following a long period of silence after his knockout loss to countryman David Haye last summer in London.
Chisora had a rough year in 2012, losing his boxing license in Britain for his antics in Munich, where he lost a unanimous decision to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko. Chisora slapped Vitali at the weigh-in, spit water in his brother and world heavyweight champion Wladimir’s face in the ring, and then brawled with Haye at the post-fight presser. Then he got knocked out by Haye at their London grudge match in the summer.
Chisora’s promoter Frank Warren went outside of the country to obtain a license for the Chisora-Haye showdown, but now “Del Boy” wants his British license back in time to fight on a March 16 card Warren is putting at Wembley Stadium in London.
To this end, Chisora has been taking anger management classes in the hopes of impressing the British Boxing Board of Control that he is a changed man.
“We have done a lot of work. We have done some lessons. It’s all good now,” Chisora said of his anger management work.
“Last year is the past. Now is 2013 and we will move on in a good way. We are just going to continue the career now. I am feeling a million dollars. I want to put [the Haye] episode to bed, that’s what I want to do. We will get this licence, get the fight out of the way and then we will move on to something else.”
Lest anyone think Dereck has become a bit dull, though, he says not to worry.
“Don’t worry about anything. I will bring drama,” says Del Boy.
Oh, we’re sure he will.
CHARR TARGETS HAYE
Heavyweight contender Manuel Charr (22-1, 12 KOs) didn’t let his recent loss to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko get him down.
The eccentric Charr recently returned with an impressive one-round stoppage of Konstantin Airich and is now determined to get a fight with David Haye of Britain, though Haye doesn’t want to know.
Charr interrupted Haye’s post-fight presser after the Hayemaker’s recent knockout of Dereck Chisora, and Haye appeared bemused by the fighter. But Charr is dead serious, and now has even produced a video that, with some very selective editing, makes it appear that he and Haye both beat up on the world champion Klitschko brothers, and then promotes a meeting between the two.
“David Haye is a cruiserweight,” Charr said recently.
“Even though he knocked out some heavyweights, I still don’t think that he could handle my power and my pressure. I am young, I am fast and I can punch.”
“I am not saying that I would definitely beat David Haye. All I’m saying is this; ‘Let’s find out what happens – I’m ready to go!'”
Charr will next fight on February 22 in Romania, and it definitely won’t be against David Haye, whose only interest is in a fight with Vitali Klitschko.
But you can’t blame a guy for trying.
WLAD ASKS FOR DEFERMENT FOR POVETKIN FIGHT
World heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko (59-3, 50 KOs) has asked the WBA for a deferment for his mandatory meeting with WBA “regular” heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin until the summer.
Klitschko, the WBA “Super Champion,” apparently wants to take on a voluntary defense on April 6. The proposed summer fight with Povetkin is tentatively being planned for Kiev, Ukraine.
In the meantime, it appears that Wladimir has been helping his ex-girlfriend, American actress Hayden Panettiere, mend her broken heart after she split with NFL football player Scotty McKnight. Wlad and Hayden were recently seen together in Florida, where Wlad has a residence.
ADAMEK IN COURT ON FEBRUARY 14
It won’t be a happy Valentines day for Polish heavyweight contender Tomasz “Goral” Adamek (48-2, 29 KOs), who recently totalled his car and damaged two other vehicles while allegedly driving drunk. Adamek refused to take a breathalyzer test, but police say they are convinced he was intoxicated.
Sergeant Charles Dobson of the local police told reporters that officers have enough evidence to conclude that Adamek was driving drunk.
“If someone is arrested in New York for driving under the influence of alcohol, it means that we have sufficient evidence to say that he was drunk,” Dobson said.
Adamek will have to travel to Lake Placid, New York on February 14 to appear in court.
Adamek could face one year in prison, a fine and temporary loss of his driver’s license. His residency in the United States could also be in jeopardy.
The Polish heavyweight was due to face current European heavyweight champion Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria in his next fight as an eliminator for a meeting with world champion Wladimir Klitschko.
VITALI STILL NOT DECIDED ON FUTURE
According to the Klitschko brothers’ dandified representative Bernd Boente, WBC heavyweight champion and Ukrainian politician Vitali Klitschko (45-2, 41 KOs) has still not decided whether to fight on or retire.
“Currently we’re not having any negotiations, we’re not talking to David Haye, or any other fighter,” says Boente.
“We are awaiting the outcome of the [eliminator] fight between Chris Arreola and Bermane Stiverne. Vitali still has not decided whether he will fight any more or will be totally focused on politics.”
