Tag Archives: David Haye

Posted on 04/25/2022

By John “Gutterdandy” Walker

Dillian “The Body Snatcher” Whyte, who was defeated in what appeared to be a one-sided bout against WBC champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury last Saturday in the UK, is now crying foul, blaming Fury for using dirty tactics and also slamming the referee for allowing Fury to push him to the mat and to rabbit punch him throughout the contest.

“I was trying to get my senses [after Fury connected with an uppercut] and he fully two-handed pushed me and I fell over and hit my head,” Whyte explains. “It was a terrible job from the referee. I should have had time to recover and have time to go back to my corner.”

Whyte contends that the contest with Fury was a very even, back and forth affair, with him giving as good as he was getting throughout the fight. Yet most boxing fans and analysts seemed to see it as a one-sided contest that Fury ended with a sixth round uppercut that the WBC champion’s team later admitted was inspired by now-retired Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin’s knockout of the year, detonating Whyte’s chin back in 2020.

Whyte mocked and derided former WBC champion Deontay Wilder when he made a series of ever more outlandish claims against Fury after being manhandled and stopped in the second of three matches with The Gypsy King. But now, Whyte himself is choosing to go the same route as Wilder did, making a series of complaints and demanding a rematch, though also realizing that he will need to beat another top heavyweight before that happens, if the WBC champion doesn’t decide to stick to his plans to retire.

Whyte may be trying to stay relevant in the heavyweight division by calling Fury a dirty fighter, and there is some historical truth to that claim. Earlier in his career, for instance, Fury employed a barrage of rabbit punches to the head of Canadian heavyweight champion Neven Pajkic after Pajkic had knocked him flat, and did the same to American Steve Cunningham, a former cruiserweight champion who also put Fury on the canvas in the Brit’s fighting debut at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

But whether Fury employed dirty tactics sufficent to beat Whyte is another question entirely. Truth be told, since his victory over top contender Joseph Parker of New Zealand in 2018, Dillian Whyte’s career has been headed on a downward trajectory.  Since that fight, Whyte has been embroiled in controversies and often looked less than impressive in the ring:

Whyte vs Oscar Rivas (2019): Whyte gets knocked down and edges Rivas with a UD under a cloud of suspicion: dianabol steroids are found in his blood and an accusation was made of Whyte using illegal gloves that were substituted for the agreed upon mitts just before the fight. Rivas’ trainer Russ Anber is furious and files a complaint with British Boxing Board of Control

Whyte vs Mariusz Wach (2019): Whyte goes life and death with the giant Polish journeyman Wach, taking a beating that actually leaves him looking like the loser of the match. The unanimous decision scores for Whyte seem not to accurately reflect what actually happened in the ring. At times an out of shape Whyte was literally hanging on.

Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin 1 (2020): Whyte is utterly destroyed by the KO of the year from the aging Povetkin. The Body Snatcher is knocked out cold on his feet by a masterfully delivered uppercut from the Russian veteran.

Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin 2 (2021):  Povetkin is brought in fresh out of a Russian hospital and still suffering from long covid symptoms. He is stopped by Whyte in a rematch that shouldn’t have taken place at that time.

Whyte vs Otto Wallin (2021, cancelled):  Whyte pulls out of the fight with 10 days left to go, in an incredibly shoddy move.  He and promoter Eddie Hearn fail to provide any evidence of an “injured shoulder,” and Hearn is downright sneering and dismissive about it.  Wallin, who gave Tyson Fury fits in their 2019 fight, is understandably livid. Whyte then disappears to await a title shot against Tyson Fury.

Whyte vs Tyson Fury (2022): Whyte seems off balance and struggles to make an impact. Fury takes him out with an uppercut that he later admits was modelled on the same punch Povetkin took “The Body Snatcher” out with.  Helluva punch, but still not as powerful as Povetkin’s masterpiece, which was one of the greatest one-punch KO shots in boxing history.

The question thus arises: was Dillian Whyte prevented from achieving heavyweight glory by “dirty tactics” used by Tyson Fury, enabled by an inattentive referee?

Or had Dillian Whyte been going downhill for the last few years, and was sold to the public via hype from fighters like David Haye, Dereck Chisora, and to some extent Tyson Fury himself, all who went out of their way to elevate the reputation of a man they knew had little to no chance of dethroning the heavyweight champion?

No doubt Whyte will now try to convince the boxing public it’s the former answer, but a close look at Whyte’s recent record suggests it’s the latter.

Posted on 10/06/2021

By: John “Gutterdandy” Walker

WBC World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury of the UK has hit back at the consistent circulating rumors regarding his readiness to defend the belt against the man he took it from, Deontay Wilder of the USA, this coming Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) has been dogged by gossip — that has only grown louder as the fight approaches — to the effect that he has not prepared properly for his first-ever title defense. The final fight of a trilogy with Wilder comes after Covid-19 delays and the scrapping of a proposed “megafight” with now former unified champ Anthony Joshua that was close to becoming reality.

Among those spreading these rumors has notably been Matchroom Boxing head honcho Eddie Hearn, who said in a recent interview that, “I just don’t think [Fury[ is in the kind of condition he was for the second fight” with Wilder.

“He had the first fight fall through with COVID and he’s been flying backwards and forwards. I just don’t think he’s had the ideal preparation at all,” Hearn continued.

While Hearn said he thought Fury would win the third meeting between the two men, he also stoked doubts by saying that this supposed lack of preparation on Fury’s part would mean that the powerful 

American might take advantage of a lapse of concentration on the part of his British opponent. 

“Is [Fury] ready to beat Deontay Wilder?” Hearn asked rhetorically.

“Probably,” Hearn continued, “but the problem is, when you fight Wilder, as Luis Ortiz found out, you can just win every single round, and if you switch off for a nanosecond, the fight is over. So that’s the only reason this fight is intriguing.” 

Likewise, former British cruiserweight and heavyweight champion David Haye has also been stoking the “Fury’s not ready” rumor mill, telling talkSPORT that, “I’ve seen Tyson Fury not preparing as he did the second time ’round [against Wilder].”

“Maybe there’s some overconfidence going into this fight.” Haye–who is himself angling for a comeback fight against Fury–excitedly continued. “Maybe he’s so supremely confident from the second fight that [Fury] believes he’s going to roll into this third fight and it’s going to be a home run straight away.”

Fury has now hit back at the rumors swirling around him, from Hearn, Haye, and others, attributing the gossip to his intentional lack of a social media presence as he prepared for the upcoming fight with Wilder.

The rumors, Fury recently told Steve Bunce of BT Sport, “are because I’ve been off social media for so long.”

Noting that, in order to focus, he had banned those in his camp from posting footage of his training camp on various websites, Fury explained that “when you’re not on social media, all of a sudden you’ve gone on a mad bender! Because, the world is controlled by social media, or so it seems.”

As for the culprits responsible for spreading such blasphemous rumors about him, Fury was direct.

“It’s mainly my rivals whose talk this is,” a bemused Fury told Bunce.

“Now I seen Eddie Hearn said I’m not ready and I’m not focused, but, wouldn’t you think he’d shut up now that his man [Anthony Joshua] has been beaten again?”

Hearn, Fury explained, “has no relevance here in Las Vegas, for me, talking about me. Why does it matter to him what I’m doing, I don’t get involved in his business at all. I don’t care what [Hearn and Joshua] do, it’s none of my concern.”

Tyson Fury is, however, ready to get involved in at least one aspect of Hearn’s business. He has offered to train Matchroom heavyweight and former champ Joshua personally–at no cost –with the guarantee that his on-again, off-again opponent A.J. will win a rematch with new unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine.

“If I trained Joshua [for the rematch], he’d definitely beat Oleksandr Usyk,” Fury opined, apparently in earnest.

“And I would be open to doing it. I’ll do it for free because I don’t need the money. I guarantee [Joshua] would beat him!”

No doubt this “generous” offer from the WBC heavyweight champ was also meant as a sly shot at Joshua’s now widely criticized approach for his latest, disastrous outing: a unanimous decision loss against the former unified cruiserweight king Usyk.

Posted on 09/13/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Stepping back into the ring after spending several years sequestered on the sidelines was enough to get the juices flowing again for David Haye.

The former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion faced off against good friend Joe Fournier this past weekend at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood Florida, in an eight-round exhibition. Haye scored an early knockdown on the night before seemingly taking it easy on his pal throughout.

While their contest appeared to be a lighthearted one, Haye is now eyeing a full-blown return to the ring. Although it might be wise for Haye to face lesser-known names before taking on the heavyweight divisions best, the 40-year-old British native isn’t interested in working his way up to the mountain top. Instead, he not only has his sights set on facing WBC/Ring Magazine titlist Tyson Fury but by his own admission, Haye believes he’s the only one equipped to take him down.

“I know how to beat Tyson Fury, I really do,” said Haye during an interview with IFL TV. “I’m being deadly serious. I understand why he’s so effective and no one else can see it.”

At one time, Haye was given the opportunity to put his theory to the test. In 2013, before Fury established himself as one of the greatest heavyweights of his generation, the two were set to face off in the ring. However, as was the case in most of Haye’s career, he was forced to pull out of their contest due to a cut he suffered in sparring which required six stitches. Their contest was then rescheduled for the 17th of November the following year but Haye was once again forced to withdraw, this time, due to a shoulder injury.

Since then, their careers have gone in completely opposite directions. Haye would go on to take a three-year hiatus before returning and defeating fringe contenders Mark De Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj. Haye would attempt to continue his win streak but was brutally stopped in back-to-back bouts against Tony Bellew and subsequently retired.

As for Fury, the British native has scored some of the biggest upset wins in recent boxing history. In 2015, as a massive underdog, Fury ended the long-standing title reign of Wladimir Klitschko. Fury has recently followed that up with a seventh-round stoppage win over hard-hitting former titlist, Deontay Wilder.

While Fury may seem to be at the top of his game currently, Haye is still firmly of the belief that he has exactly what it takes to dethrone him.

“I’m good enough still to do it. I would have done it back in 2013. He knows it.”

Posted on 08/18/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Plenty are split down the middle in terms of how they view the heavyweight clash between unified champion Anthony Joshua and former undisputed cruiserweight king, Oleksandr Usyk.

With Usyk’s ability to outbox and outthink his opponents, rather than outmuscle them, there is a belief that no matter how big Joshua’s hulking muscles are, he’ll have a difficult time landing something significant.

Even as Joshua is currently the betting favorite, an easy night at the office isn’t widely expected. That is, unless you ask former heavyweight and cruiserweight champion, David Haye.

“Not much,” said Haye when asked how much trouble Usyk can give Joshua on September 25th during an interview with IFL TV. “I think if Anthony Joshua decides to have a tit for tat boxing match like just jabbing and trying to score points, then he’d have some trouble but he’s not stupid enough to do that.”

Joshua, 31, has seldom attempted to win his contests on the judge’s scorecards. Having wiped out 22 of his 25 career opponents before the final bell has rung, the British native has a propensity to leave nothing to chance.

In his most recent ring appearance, Joshua placed more of his killer mindset on display. In December of 2020, the British native took on then mandatory challenger, Kubrat Pulev. Despite claiming that Joshua’s title reign was going to end in brutal fashion, it was Pulev who was on the wrong end of a one-sided beating. The Bulgarian would hit the mat a total of three times before being stopped in the ninth round.

While Joshua impressed a populous crowd at Wembley Arena, Usyk, 34, was unafraid of what lies ahead.

After picking up every world title in the cruiserweight division, Usyk’s time as a heavyweight hasn’t been as successful.

Having watched Usyk struggle with much bigger and stronger opponents in Chazz Witherspoon and more recently, Dereck Chisora, Haye isn’t only convinced that Joshua is going to pick him apart but he also envisions exactly how it’ll happen.

“He’s going to use his beautiful jab, his height and reach advantage, size, and weight advantage, and his punch power advantage. He’s just better all around. It’s going to be pretty devastating.”

Posted on 09/28/2020

By: Hans Themistode

Most have been waiting to see how former undisputed Cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk will do when he’s matched up against Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

Usyk of course, has a legit threat in front of him when he takes on Dereck Chisora on October 31st. But for the most part, many are expecting him to push Usyk, but not necessarily win.

Currently, co-promoter of Chisora and former opponent in David Haye agree’s that on paper, his man doesn’t have a chance. But that’s only on paper.

“If you look at his record and what he has done as an amateur, Olympic gold medalist, undisputed and won every single belt there is to win,” said Haye to Sky Sports Boxing. “He’s done it all. Dereck on the other hand, has lost nine fights. If you look at Dereck’s record against Usyk’s, then it’s like well it’s going to be only one winner.”

Amongst those nine losses were a few head scratching one’s. In late 2017, Chisora came up short via majority decision to the unheralded Agit Kabayel. He also loss to fringe contender Robert Helenius earlier in his career. Pair those losses with several others against the divisions best over the years and it’s safe to say that Chisora has placed himself as a top ten contender, but someone who has failed to get over the hump.

Usyk on the other hand, looked incredible in the Cruiserweight division and looks to be a possible star in his new weight class. Yet, while Haye believes Usyk was able to dance around his opponents in the past, he’ll find the much larger men in the heavyweight division much more difficult to navigate around.

“What Usyk doesn’t understand is that the heavyweight division is very different compared to every other division in boxing. It’s about size and weight. It takes one shot to turn the tide, ask Povetkin.”

Arguably no one in the sport of boxing this year better illustrates just how fast things can change in the ring.

In late August earlier this year, Alexander Povetkin was on the wrong end of a one sided beating at the hands of Dillian Whyte. Povetkin, 41, was dropped twice in the fourth round and appeared to be on his way to a stoppage loss. Then, out of seemingly nowhere, Povetkin landed a left uppercut that turned off Whyte’s light’s way before his head bounced off the canvas.

Going into that contest, Povetkin was a heavy underdog but upset the odds.

Now, Haye is expecting Chisora to do the same.

“He’s going to cause an upset and shock so many people. He knows this is his last chance.”

Posted on 04/29/2020

By: Hans Themistode

David Haye is currently in the midst of his third retirement. But just like the previous two, He isn’t exactly ready to call it a career. 

The former unified Cruiserweight champion and one time Heavyweight titlist, ended a four year hiatus to stop the unheralded Mark De Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj in 2016. That win streak however, along with Haye’s hopes for another title shot, ended quickly with back to back knockout losses to Tony Bellew in 2017 and 2018. 

Since then, Haye decided to ride off into the sunset for seemingly one last time. But now, it looks as though he could change his mind. Nevertheless don’t expect him to make a return to the ring against a rising contender or a no name opponent. No, only the best of the best can make the man nicknamed “Hayemaker” return one more time. 

“The only one that I would do it for is the winner of AJ and Tyson Fury because that would be No1 vs No1,” said Haye in an interview with Behind The Gloves. “That’s probably the only one, but not really. It’s a lot to go through.”

Over the course of Haye’s career, he spent the vast majority of it hurt. Injuries to his bicep, a torn achilles and most notably an injured toe hampered him for long stretches. But now, as is often the case with retired fighters, Haye feels rejuvenated and better than ever.

“I got my body in a good place right now, and I’m in a good place. All my injuries have healed up. There’s been no hardcore training. I’ve been at home with my weights. I’ve enjoyed this time where the intensity has been taken from a ten to a three. Everyone thinks I train super, super hard. Not really.  I probably train between half an hour to 45-minute every day, but I have a nice routine.”

“I’m not training for an athletic performance. I’m training for vanity. When I watch fights now, I think ‘I’d slip this jab, I’d do this and do that.’ That’s the slippery slope when your brain starts going like that.”

It’s hard to get the 2018 version of Haye out of the minds of fans. He was slow, unathletic, lethargic and a shell of his former self. It’s difficult to imagine that version of Haye standing a chance against Joshua, Fury or any top ten Heavyweight. 

At one point, Haye had it all. He possessed the power, speed and finesse to give anyone in the Heavyweight division fits. But even if he could get his hands on a time machine and reach back to his old championship caliber self, Haye isn’t 100% sure it would be enough.

“I remember watching Anthony Joshua when he [recently] fought Andy Ruiz, and I thought, ‘Damn, that would be very, very difficult to beat,” said Haye. “Even on my best day, that version of him [Joshua] that is boxing, and light on his feet, he’s ready and fearful as well,’ that’s hard to beat.”

“I thought the same thing when I saw Tyson Fury fight Wilder. I’m watching, and I’m like, ‘That guy [Fury] is a hard guy to beat.’ So those are the two performances I’ve seen since I’ve been retired where I watched it and gone, ‘That would have been a hard work, no matter what version of me that was.’

Posted on 04/23/2020

By: Hans Themistode

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and David Haye currently has someone who is looking to follow in his footsteps. Somewhat. 

From 2007-2009, Haye went from a unified Cruiserweight titlist to the WBA Heavyweight champion of the world. His reign at the Heavyweight division didn’t last long thanks to Wladimir Klitschko, but he had an impressive run nevertheless. Now, one decade later Oleksandr Usyk looks to do the same. 

Usyk, an Olympic gold medalist, will look to jump right into the deep end when he takes on perpetual Heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora. A walk in the park for the man that looked almost unbeatable at the Cruiserweight division, but Haye believes Chisora is about to turn out the best performance of his career.

“He’s ranked in every boxing expert’s top five pound-for-pound fighters,” said Haye to Talk Sports. “He’s an Olympic champion, he’s never ever lost a boxing match before, he was the undisputed cruiserweight champion – he’s the man. The most skilled smaller heavyweight out there. Derek Chisora has lost nine fights. Many people think he’s passed his prime. But believe me he was having a run in training camp like I’ve never seen him before. The sparring, the physical side of things.”

No matter how many times Haye heaps praise in the direction of Chisora, the nine losses on his resume speaks volumes. Matchups against Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, Vitali Klitschko and others tell a story of a fighter that has trouble winning the big one. But that was the old undisciplined and lazy Chisora. This new version is a real contender. At least according to Haye.

“Derek is in a good place. The fight date he’s been working towards has been postponed. Usyk is in training and we can see from his social media that he is ticking over in the Ukraine.”

“He’s got on his discipline, he’s eating the right food, he’s sleeping the right times, he’s not doing all of the things he did in the past that culminated in him losing those nine fights. He shouldn’t have lost all of those fights. A lot of the time he wasn’t in the best physical condition, the right mind-set, but he is now. I think Usyk has miscalculated how good Chisora is. He doesn’t realize how strong he is. He’s like a bull, he’s absolutely rock-solid, and he’s still training now.”

As far as when the two could meet in the ring, that is yet to be determined due to COVID-19. But there is a chance that face one another in an empty arena. Whether their contest takes place in front of a packed house or no one at all, a win over Chisora will place him at the head of line in terms of a title shot.

Posted on 05/22/2012

By Johnny Walker

Former WBA heavyweight champion David “Hayemaker” Haye and his manager Adam Booth have struck back hard against claims made yesterday by the Klitschko brothers and their manager Bernd Boente to the effect that the UK fighter ducked a September matchup with WBC champion Vitali.

“I offered Haye a fight for September, but he obviously does not want to fight me. He ducked out to face [Dereck] Chisora instead,” Vitali Klitschko said yesterday while in Britain to promote the Klitschko biopic.

“I don’t think it [Haye-Vitali] will happen,” Boente added.

“It will definitely not happen in September because we are already talking to a couple of different opponents for then and it is too close for Haye to fight him after his fight against Chisora.

“[Haye] never really wanted to fight Vitali. “The guy is always talking. He barks like a dog and is mostly afraid.”

These new claims by camp Klitschko were somewhat surprising, given the Hayemaker’s claims that the biggest reason for his recent unretirement was the allure of a fight with the elder Klitschko brother.

And today, Haye and his trainer/manager Booth fired back on the fighter’s website.

“It makes absolutely no sense for me to turn down a fight I desperately want,” Haye contends.

“Remember, the whole idea behind going ahead with this Chisora fight was that a victory may then lead to a fight with Vitali Klitschko. That was my plan, my reason for returning to the ring.

“I want to fight on 14 July and then again in September, and have been telling people this for months now.”

According to the Hayemaker, camp Klitschko is trying to maneuver around a fight with him because Vitali looked like a mere mortal against Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora last time out, and can’t risk a loss before the mayoral elections in Kiev this fall, where he is a leading candidate.

Yesterday, Boente lent more credence to this notion by stating that Vitali will immediately retire from boxing if he wins the election.

“What is clear to me is that K2 [Klitschko’s management] are now happy to protect an ageing Vitali and usher him towards politics as soon as possible,” says Haye.

“Politics is about popularity, and Vitali’s popularity in Ukraine would take a massive hit if he were to get knocked out by me before retiring.

“It’s imperative for him to keep winning and beating up puddings en route to retirement, as that sets him up nicely for a career in politics.

“At this advanced stage in his career, the last thing on Vitali’s mind are tough challenges in the ring. He’s essentially semi-retired, which is fine, so long as he comes clean about it. Don’t go stringing everybody along – fighters and fans – when some of us know the truth.”

“Unfortunately, Vitali will probably now look to fight some no-hoper, while telling the boxing world I turned down the fight.

“I will never turn down a fight with Vitali,” Haye states flatly.

For his part, Adam Booth expressed surprised at the statements coming from “Herr Boente.”

“Today I read that Herr Boente claims David ‘turned the fight down’ and ‘does not want to fight Vitali’,” Booth says.

“Both of these claims are completely false. If Vitali wants to fight David in September, we are here and happy to accept. If not, no worries or sadness from our side.

“Maybe K2 realized during Vitali’s fight with Chisora in February that their precious champion was drastically slowing down and didn’t fancy going up against anyone too quick in the future. Whatever their reasoning, if Herr Boente is happy to spin the lines he feeds people, good for him.”

Both Booth and Haye also express cynicism toward the recent statements of outrage from the Klitschko brothers and their manager over Haye’s upcoming fight with Dereck Chisora, with world heavyweight champion Wladimir repeatedly branding the fight a “freak show.”

They feel that camp Klitschko is merely furious because of the interest of the boxing public in the bout, as compared to the indifferent yawns provoked by Wladimir’s scheduled tilt with a man he’s already knocked out, Tony Thompson.

“They can call my fight against Chisora a freak show as much as they like, but we all know that so-called freak show will have more people interested in it than either of the Klitschkos’ next fights,” Haye contends.

“Who wants to see Wladimir fight Tony Thompson again? Even Tony Thompson doesn’t want to see that again. Their first fight was horrible enough.

“Also, anybody with an ounce of intelligence would know that Boente and the Klitschkos were only name-dropping and ridiculing my fight with Chisora to raise some publicity over here for the Klitschko film, which they happened to be in London promoting on Monday night.”

Booth also gets a dig in at his nemesis Boente, who, during the infamous press conference scuffle in Munich—a scuffle that the Klitschkos themselves appeared to be enjoying at the time, only to express shock and disgust with later—was an instigator, holding the carrot of a Klitschko title shot out on a stick to the winner of a Haye-Chisora showdown.

“It’s bizarre just how much hatred with agenda the Haye versus Chisora fight has attracted,” Booth muses.

“Maybe Bernd Boente has short-term memory issues. A quick look back at the video of that infamous Munich press conference clearly shows Bernd agreeing with Frank Warren that Haye and Chisora should fight for the right to challenge Vitali.”

Bernd Boente tells David Haye to fight Dereck Chisora

See also: Bernd Boente and K2 — Hypocrites on the Haye vs Chisora Fight

Posted on 05/21/2012

By Johnny Walker

Flamboyant UK Heavyweight Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora rubbed the noses of the protesting BBBoC (British Boxing Board of Control), WBC, BDB (German Boxing Board)–and who knows, maybe a few more other acronyms as well–in it Monday as he travelled to Luxembourg to pick up his boxing license for his July 14 grudge showdown in London with his countryman David Haye.

Meanwhile, the world heavyweight champion Klitschko brothers, Wladimir and Vitali, took to the British airwaves and opened rhetorical fire on both Chisora and Haye—their two most loathed rivals–as they visited the UK to promote their excellent film documentary, simply entitled Klitschko.

A relaxed Del Boy even hung out at a Luxembourg boxing gym, kibitzing with the local fighters.

“I had plenty of opportunities to be licensed by other countries, but I chose Luxembourg because they were very respectful towards me, very accommodating and friendly people and I look forward to making them proud,” the eccentric Brit said at a press conference where he was presented with his license, in a dig at the aforementioned organizations seeking to prevent the fight from happening at all.

Del Boy in Luxembourg

Adding insult to the BBBoC’s injury, Tony Tiberi, General Secretary of the Luxembourg Boxing Federation, said, “Dereck Chisora is a great champion and become a hero in Luxembourg when he visited a boxing gym today and made a lot of boxers day by helping with some coaching. We are sure he will not let the people of Luxembourg down. He will now go into the ring know as the Red Lion of Luxembourg.”

Earlier in the day, the German BDB had sided with the BBBoC and WBC against promoter Frank Warren, the WBO and the WBA, and demanded that the fight not take place.

Tipping his hand, BDB president Thomas Putz said: “I was surprised, disappointed, upset and shocked when I heard [about the] fight between Dereck Chisora and David Haye.

“Neither Chisora or Haye hold a valid licence with the BBBofC.

“For obvious and good reasons Dereck Chisora has lost his license with the BBBoC, is under suspension from the BDB, and has been suspended indefinitely by the WBC. This fact alone justifies Wladimir Klitschko’s comment that we should not talk about a boxing fight but about a ‘freak show’. I have to say that, even though I would choose a different wording, I totally agree with our world heavyweight champion in this point.”

Ahhh, the Klitschkos.

Can it really be a surprise that the Klitschko brothers, who rule the German boxing scene, are pressuring the BDB to put the whammy on the fight between the two men they most loathe?

Haye, you will remember, was the Klitschkos’ sworn enemy, the man who featured their two severed heads on a T-shirt and who trash-talked them like no one before.

Then along came Dereck Chisora, who slapped WBC champion Vitali’s face hard at the weigh-in before their fight, and spit water in Wladimir’s face in the ring.

After Chisora got in the act, David Haye almost seemed like an OK guy to the Ukrainian brothers.

Visiting various British media outlets on Monday to promote the opening of their documentary, the brothers took verbal aim at both Chisora and Haye.

“It is not right to sanction this fight,” Wladimir argued.

“That is my opinion. I am totally against it. People have compared Mike Tyson to Chisora and said he has done some bad things too. Let’s not compare Mike Tyson to Dereck Chisora. Mike Tyson has been the youngest heavyweight champion of the world and he has been an exciting fighter.

“Haye-Chisora is a fight between two losers,” Vitali chimed in.

“Haye lost to Wladimir, Chisora lost to me. I offered Haye a fight for September, but he obviously does not want to fight me. He ducked out to face Chisora instead. The fight between them has no meaning in the sport.

“It’s two losers against each other.”

Perhaps. But given the fact that the boxing public has been polled as being roughly 75% in favor of Haye and Chisora getting together, some of this complaining from the Klitschko camp comes across as sour grapes.

Put simply, Haye versus Chisora is a heavyweight fight the public wants to see.

The Klitschkos can’t really say the same about the Wladimir’s upcoming mandatory title defence against Tony Thompson, a man he’s already knocked out. And it seems that fact rankles them.

Sometimes always following the rules has its drawbacks, and occasionally breaking them pays off.

It has to hurt to see boxing fans so excited about a fight between the two men the brothers dislike so much.

Posted on 05/20/2012

By Johnny Walker

One thing you have say for the current crop of heavyweight boxers from the UK: they keep things interesting.

From the motormouthed verbiage of Tyson Fury and David Haye, to the crazed antics of Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora, to the flat-out destructive knockout power of the massive David Price, the British heavyweights—all still relatively young—refute the notion that today’s heavyweight division is somehow “boring” and lacking in entertainment value.

And after a brief “retirement” following his loss to world champion Wladimir Klitschko, David Haye seems to be relishing getting back into the media spotlight as he prepares to meet Chisora in London grudge match on July 14.

Today, Haye has unloaded upon not only Chisora in the British press, but also Chisora’s trainer, Don Charles. Haye says that during the press conference scuffle in Germany following Chisora’s loss to WBC champion Vitali Klitschko, he not only decked Chisora, but also broke Charles’ jaw.

“Chisora has an idiotic coach who has also offered me out in a fight after I’ve already broken his jaw at the press ­conference, “ Haye tells the Daily Star.

“I’m not sure if anyone knows he had his jaw wired because it was broken. Idiot.

“Why is he, a 50-year-old man, trying to fight me when he has already seen me take out his young, 28-year-old, primed fighter with four blows? Then he wants to come and fight me. Now he has done a video on the ­internet saying, ‘I want to fight David. I know it won’t make any money but I’ll kick his ass.’

Haye then goes on to ridicule the duo of Chisora and Charles.

“This is the guy who is training him, so these two idiots together, two buffoons, can you imagine them in the gym?

“Two ego-maniacs, idiotic fools both of them – and you can expect plenty of the same on fight night, Chisora walking ­forward, hoping that he’s going to hit me with one big punch that he hasn’t really got.”

And Haye hasn’t stopped at merely verbally ripping Chisora.

He has now produced an iPhone app which pokes fun at the now infamous press conference scuffle.

The app allows users to box using the persona of David Haye, who produces a bottle from his glove by which to decapitate Dereck Chisora—a reference to the bottle held in Haye’s right hand when he decked Chisora at the Munich press conference.

“So much fuss was made about the bottle in my hand in Munich that I decided to have some fun with it,” Haye says.

As for the moralists out there who might object, Haye also has a message.

“People will moan about it but I have a simple message — keep your money in your pocket and don’t buy it.”

Haye also insists that Chisora, who was once convicted of assaulting a former girlfriend, is the real morally repugnant character in this feud. He says he will dedicate their fight to victims of assault and bullying.

“I don’t know what logically goes on in his brain,” Haye says of Chisora, who has also bitten, slapped and kissed his opponents.

“He’s not a nice guy and this fight will be ­dedicated to all the women who have been beaten – and people who have been ­bullied – by men like Dereck Chisora. This one goes out to them.

“I’ve always had ­respect for opponents as ­human beings, even though I don’t let them know it.

“But there’s nothing to like about this guy. He has no social graces and for me to say that, ­someone who is supposed to be a real bad guy, apparently, shows how bad he is.”

Posted on 05/17/2012

Power Shots: News and Views on the Heavyweight Division

by Johnny Walker

David Price: the next BIG (and we mean BIG) thing?

Those fans of heavyweight boxing in the UK and elsewhere turned off by the current (overblown, in our opinion) controversy regarding the Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora and David Haye matchup will find respite this Saturday night as rising British star David Price (12-0, 10 KOs) goes up against sturdy challenger Sam Sexton (15-2, 6 KOs) in Liverpool, England.

Veteran British fight promoter Frank Maloney-—a rival of the man putting on the Haye-Chisora grudge fight, Frank Warren—has been busy in the lead-up to this scrap for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles (recently vacated by Tyson Fury when a fight with Price couldn’t be agreed upon), promoting the genial 6’8” tall giant Price as the anti-Chisora/Haye/Fury of UK boxing.

Price tends to avoid trash talk and likes to let his fists speak for him in the ring.

“David and Sam are both gentlemen and will give fans a fight to remember, “ says Maloney.

“There has been no trash talking and whoever wins will be proud to call themselves British and Commonwealth champion.

“[Tyson] Fury tried to lessen the title by refusing to face David. Chisora and Haye have brought bad publicity to the sport.

“Obviously I am backing David to win, but Sam is a very good fighter and been a delight to work with during the build-up.”

Price himself says that the buzz about him at home has grown so deafening that he escaped to the quiet of Germany to train for the Sexton fight.

“I needed to get away because there are a few distractions at home in the city. A lot more people want me to be here, there and everywhere,” says Price.

“It is nice to know you are in demand, but training is the most important thing so I had to get away and focus.

“Just a few different things were getting in the way of my preparations. It has done me the world of good. There was nothing there apart from the hotel and the gym so there was plenty of time to focus.”

While Price impressed many last time out with a first round destruction of rugged John McDermott, one observer who wasn’t moved by the fight was none other than his rival, the ever-opinionated Mr. Fury.

“He’s a bum,” Fury says of Price.

Haye vs Chisora: The People’s Choice

While there has been a lot of moaning from Frank Maloney and others in the boxing business re the Haye versus Chisora grudge feud scheduled for July 14 in London, England, two different polls this week show that the boxing public is massively in favor of the fight taking place. A poll in Boxing News showed 75 percent of respondents in favor of the bout, while another in the Daily Mail had the pro-fight faction at 71 percent.

Franklin Lawrence and Mike Mollo: Big Talk

Closer to home, American heavyweight contender Franklin “Ya Ya” Lawrence takes on Mike Mollo for the vacant NABA heavyweight title this Friday night at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino, Dover, Delaware.

Franklin Lawrence: No Respect For Mollo

Lawrence (17-2-2, 12 KOs), coming off of five straight wins, sounds very confident, if not downright arrogant, as he takes on a man who hasn’t fought since 2010.

“Mike Mollo can’t fight,” Lawrence says flatly. “He just swings wildly.”

“Andrew Golota boxed him and then beat him half to death.

“The guy has no inside game and he is not ready for me. He doesn’t do anything textbook but I will give him credit because he does take a good beating.”

Lawrence is also convinced that the heavyweight titles held by the Brothers Klitschko are soon to be his.

“I will be fighting for the championship within a fight or two. My ratings would be higher except the guys ahead of me are ducking me,” Lawrence contends.

“Once the networks see what I can do, they will know I am a serious challenger for the title.”

Mollo (20-3-1, 12 KO’s), however, is unimpressed by Lawrence’s future plans, which he sees as delusions of grandeur, and says he’ll upset “Ya Ya’s” apple cart with a win on Friday night.

“Not only am I going to win but I will win in spectacular fashion,” Mollo vows.

“I have been putting in the hard work and have been in training camp for ten weeks.

“[Lawrence] beat an out of shape Jason Gavern and Jason Estrada. He has gotten off easy in those fights and if he wants to live off that, then he is fooling himself.

“This fight will get me back in the spotlight and I am not looking to squeak by with a decision.”

If the fight is as heated as the trash talk, this should be a good one.

The Return of Razor Ruddock?

Speaking of delusions of grandeur, you may have heard of the press release making the rounds announcing the return of former contender Donovan “Razor” Ruddock (38-5-1, 29 KOs).

Ruddock joins the ranks of Jameel “Big Time” McCline, Evander Holyfield, James “Lights Out” Toney, and Antonio Tarver, all 40+ aged fighters who are looking for that coveted (and lucrative) shot at one or both of the heavyweight kingpin Klitschko brothers.

“First thing, I want my Canadian Heavyweight title back,” says Ruddock.

“I really respect Neven [Pajkic, current Canadian Heavyweight champion].

“He’s a warrior who carries the title with class and pride. But, sadly for him, he’s wearing the belt that I want.

“Then when Neven is healing up, hopefully he’ll take some comfort in the fact that I’ll be putting Tyson Fury, Chris Arreola, Derrick Chisora, David Haye, Bermane Stiverne, Seth Mitchell, and Tomasz Adamek, on the exact same pudding diet too.

“And after I feast on the appetizers, I’ll dive in for two helpings of Chicken Kiev,” says Ruddock in a reference to the Ukrainian champions.

Power Shots contacted Canadian champion Pajkic regarding Ruddock’s grandiose remarks, and he didn’t seem too impressed with the 48-year-old former contender’s big plans.

“HAHAHAHA,” Pajkic replied via Facebook. “What can I say brother, out here in TO [Toronto] crack is cheap !!!”

Prizefighter Heavyweight Tournament to Feature Kevin Johnson, Albert Sosnowski, Kali Meehan

Another heavyweight who is never lacking in the trash talk department, Kevin “Kingpin” Johnson, is already yapping ahead of the Betfair Prizefighter International Heavyweights tournament set for Wednesday June 20 at York Hall, Bethnal Green in the UK.

Both Johnson and fellow tournament entry Albert Sosnowski have been vanquished already by WBC heavyweight champ Vitali Klitschko, but while most would rate Sosnowski’s effort as a game one, Johnson’s negative performance against the big Ukrainian earned him the sarcastic moniker, “Safety Pin.”

Johnson made a move back toward heavyweight relevance recently when he disposed of Aussie heavyweight contender Alex Leapai, stopping him via a ninth-round TKO.

And that’s all Johnson needed to start talking very big once again.

“I’m ready to put the American heavyweight boxing scene back on the map starting with the Betfair Prizefighter tournament on June 20,” Johnson says.

“Like I tell everybody, I am the best American heavyweight – bar none! If people see me, they will know it. Don’t worry about Seth Mitchell, Chris Arreola or any of those other clowns. Just focus on me and watch me deliver. I’m the best heavyweight in the world that’s not named Klitschko, and after Prizefighter, I’ll take care of that too.”

Power Shots has to wonder: has Kevin Johnson been talking to Razor Ruddock, by any chance?

Posted on 05/10/2012

Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye of the UK talks about his upcoming fight with countryman Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora.

Posted on 05/10/2012

By Johnny Walker

Former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye of the UK has nixed the idea of a face to face stare-down with his countryman and challenger Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora at the weigh-in for their fight on July 14 in London.

Haye feels that if he were to face off with Chisora at the weigh-in, “Del Boy” would try to do something along the lines of his hard slap to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko’s face before their fight in Munich.

Chisora went on to spit water in Wladimir Klitschko’s face and then brawl with Haye at the post-fight press conference, where Haye had gone to try and convince Vitali Klitschko to fight him.

Haye and Chisora were separated by a seven foot high steel fence at the initial presser for their upcoming bout.

“The head-to-head weigh-in is off the cards,” says Haye.

“It’s not happening because it will kick off. At no stage do I want to be in this guy’s personal space because we have done that before and it didn’t end up nicely. If there wasn’t a fence there [at the presser], I know for a fact that he would have tried to do something.”

Haye feels that Chisora is truly a deranged individual.

“I truly believe he has a screw loose, a few screws loose actually,” says the former champ.

“Dereck does some really strange things.”

“I have seen him get hold of a guy and kiss him, I have seen him push another guy in the face at the weigh-in and look at his criminal record – bashing up his missus, assaulting police officers, carrying offensive weapons….”

Haye was not reassured by what he heard through the fence from Chisora at the presser, either.

“He’s just the most bizarre person,” says Haye.

“He was talking mad things through the fence. He was asking where I got my suit from, what I am doing on Sunday.

“The guy is mental. He’s gone in the head.”

Posted on 05/10/2012

By Johnny Walker

Without hype, something terrible happens – nothing!

BoxNation promoter Frank Warren’s contention that he is giving the boxing public the fight it wants to see was strengthened today by the news that the upcoming heavyweight contest between former WBA world heavyweight champion David Haye and Dereck Chisora, slated for July 14 at the West Ham soccer stadium in London, England, has sold out half of its available seating in a little over a day.

The fight is a grudge battle between two evenly matched, top heavyweights, and in this era where the current champion Klitschko brothers mow down the opposition (including Haye and Chisora) with ease, it seems to have caught the imagination of the boxing public, who just want to see a competitive heavyweight war.

The tickets sales are also proof that, while the sports media may engage in fake outrage and the public in facile moralism, people really are more interested in this fight because of the history behind it: a now blown-of-out-proportion press conference brawl in Germany between Haye and Chisora.

Hype, it seems, works.

“We’ve sold more than 20,000 since they went on sale on Wednesday morning. The capacity is 40,000,” Warren told the BBC today.

“I’m sure there’s more interest than there would have been if there hadn’t been a fracas.”

Buoyed by the numbers, Warren also shrugged off the huffing and puffing of the British Boxing Board of Control, which yesterday issued a statement that threatened all and sundry of dire consequences should the promotion, cheekily titled “Licensed To Thrill” (the BBBoC has refused to license Chisora), go ahead.

“If they think I’m going to just roll over and let that happen then they’re sorely mistaken,” Warren said of the BBBoC’s threats to pull the boxing licenses of anyone involved with the fight.

“It’s not just me, there’s a lot of other license holders involved.

“There’s a lot of undertones with the way the board has operated, not just about Chisora, other things. Hopefully this is the catalyst that is going to bring some changes.”

Posted on 05/08/2012

by Johnny Walker

In defiance of the professional moralists in the mainstream sports media and their calculated and manufactured outrage, as well as of the ineffectual British Boxing Board of Control, UK heavyweights Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora and former WBA champion David Haye announced today that they would give the boxing public what it wants, and fight each other on July 14 in London, England.

Adding to the tension of the occasion, the presser featured the fighters—who famously scrapped at a post-fight presser in Munich, Germany following Chisora’s loss to WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko—separated by a seven foot high steel fence.

Explaining that he originally intended to come back from a brief retirement to fight one or both of world champions Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, the always loquacious Haye said that public opinion brought him back against Chisora.

“People kept coming up to me on the street, people who weren’t boxing fans, regular people on the street, saying, ‘Dereck, he’s an idiot, you’ve got to knock him out, you’ve gotta do it,’ Haye explained in his usual animated fashion.

“So I thought, ‘OK then, why not?’

“In my mind I was anticipating fighting Vitali Klitschko in the summer, so … I was gearing up to a fight in the summer anyway. [A fight with Vitali] doesn’t look like it’s happening for awhile, so why not?

“It seems like it’s a no-brainer. I don’t think there’s too many people, who if they were in my position, wouldn’t go through with this fight.

“[Chisora] obviously didn’t learn his lesson in Germany, so I’ve got to do it officially, in front of everybody … I can expose him, officially, and it can be on my record for doing that as well.”

“We’ve heard it all before,” Chisora sneered at Haye.

“David gives all the big talk, all the big talk … you get in the ring and you don’t deliver.

“It’s all big talk anyway, so you know what David, you keep talking. The more you keep talking the more you’re getting me upset. The more you get me upset, the more I jump over this [fence] right now….”

“And get knocked out again, eh?” Haye quipped.

“We already played that game before and you lost.”

“I saw David Haye a couple of weeks ago in London, and guess what he picked up, he picked up a knife,” Chisora continued.

“I was eating a steak,” Haye scoffed.

“There was nothing on the table,” Chisora continued. “He knows I’m a bad man. If you want to have it, we can have it now.”

And these two are just getting started.

Given the history between the two men and the level of animosity still quite evident, Haye versus Chisora promises to be one of the most heavily anticipated heavyweight fights in years, not just in the UK, but world-wide.