Tag Archives: Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora

Chisora vs Whyte – My Fight Of The Year

Posted on 12/16/2016

Chisora vs Whyte – My Fight Of The Year
By: Oz Ozkaya

Well, well, well. It has been just over 5 months since I wrote a devastatingly harsh piece on the status quo of world level heavyweight boxing, and I am saddened to say that this notion was proven once again in Saturday’s underwhelming clash between IBF world champion Anthony Joshua and challenger Eric Molina. Prior to this, the recent fight between Luis Ortiz and Malik Scott in Monaco last month had a similar effect, in addition to the dire showing between Dereck Chisora and Kubrat Pulev that we witnessed back in May. Maybe I am being a little cynical with my criticism of Joshua, after all, it’s not his fault he’s easily able to knockout the mediocre opponents that are always put in front of him!

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Yet, as you recall from my last heavyweight-boxing piece, I am here to say that there may yet be some brighter days ahead. Chisora and Dillian Whyte made me very aware of this during their undercard performance on the Joshua vs Molina show. They proved me and my anti-heavyweight division rhetoric wrong in such gladiatorial fashion that the main event that followed had a near impossible task of living up to it. I can’t remember the last time such a scenario occurred in boxing.

Chisora (26-7), a now 32-year-old veteran of the sport, behaved like a human rhino in the build up to the fight – puffing a lot of steam and making a lot of noises. One scene, in particular, resulted in a table being thrown in the middle of a press conference, this resulted in Chisora being slapped with a £30,000 fine and being handed a two-year ban (suspended) by the boxing authorities. Whyte, on the contrary, was in such a chipper mood during Chisora’s meltdown that he decided to goad and excite ‘Del Boy’ further, which accumulated in bottles being thrown from all corners and trainers and coaches alike looking for a piece of the action too.

Weeks before this, unsurprisingly, Chisora and Whyte had engaged in a near “fisty cuffs” affair at a Sky presser before being separated by a rather speedy army of security. Chisora, again, the culprit on that occasion that sparked the fire by exploding a bottle of water on Whyte (excuse the reverse pun) before motioning towards him in a “ready for battle” manner. This scene only fuelled public interest for the fight; I, however, still wasn’t convinced. After all, we have been here many times before with this overly scripted WWE styled melodrama, right?

For Chisora, many (myself included) had dubbed this fight as an almost ‘last chance saloon’ at the time of its announcement. Having previously fought and lost to Wladimir Klitschko, David Haye, Tyson Fury (twice) and Kubrat Pulev at world level, it would be easy to think that there aren’t many corners left for Chisora to turn to if he were to lose this one. But, lose he did. However, this is where the story gets interesting as I believe that Chisora did just about enough to take the victory on the night. Chisora was in the best shape and form of his career. It was a big change to the overweight and out of touch character that we had seen a few times in the past.

Dillian Whyte, on the other hand, will be overjoyed to have nicked the victory on Saturday. Only a year after his spectacular matchup with Anthony Joshua at the 02 Arena in London, Whyte looks more focused and better than ever. The one thing does remain from that loss to Joshua is that Whyte is still one hard-headed machine. A number of crushing haymakers and steely uppercuts Chisora landed on him were getting beyond countable towards the end. His resilience and determination were two factors that may have earned him the victory from those two judges. The split decision really did say a lot.

After the sluggish affair that followed this firework like frenzy, you may have wished that Joshua had been billed to fight one of these two instead. There was energy, determination, resilience and desire on both sides. And although it was originally only billed as a British title fight (which the boxing board subsequently aborted following the antics of Chisora) the fight actually lived up to world title level, which is fitting considering Whyte will now be one step closer in the eliminator contest for Deontay Wilder’s WBC crown.

On the night it was during the 5th round where I believe the show really took off between Chisora and Whyte. Chisora seemed more charged up at the start bell before he wobbled Whyte with a thunderous overhead right – a punch that may well have ended another opponent.

The following round it was clear to see that the adrenaline rush had slowed Del Boy down, and it was in this period where Whyte came back with some lethal combinations of his own.

In the 8th and 9th, both Men offered some sublime boxing virtuosity, Whyte, in particular, using some great jab for jab combinations and scoring intelligently against the now deflated Chisora. However, Chisora would go on to land another huge left hook that would have led you to believe it was the beginning of the end. Whyte was again resilient and somehow hung on in.

In the 10th Chisora excelled again by appearing to have landed the punches with greater effect, and I for one was stunned at how Whyte was able to sustain such power. At this point, I had a flashback to last year when Whyte so admirably gave Joshua his longest and most difficult fight.

As the 12th came around you wondered if either fighter had any energy left in the tank, but as their determination kicked in at the start of the bell you knew that it was going to end in an appropriate style. Both men extremely sluggish, but still had enough encouragement to try for the knockdown. It wasn’t to be, and Whyte nicked it 115-113. 115-114 to the one judge who scored it 115-114 to Chisora.

The aftermath reaction of the fight just goes to show the profound effect that this match has had, with many in the boxing business and outside calling for a second fight on its own headline. I don’t usually rant and rave about a heavyweight contest in the way that I am about this one, especially as I was adamant that it was going to be a lousy fight with two over deflated heavyweight’s looking for a fast payday, it just wasn’t to be.

I do feel slightly sorry for Chisora after this one though as his record now has another unnecessary blemish following his previous loss – another split decision to the fridge sized Bulgarian, Kubrat Pulev. Whyte should be in no rush for his heavyweight title chance if and when that comes against Wilder. He and his promoter should be thinking of getting in the ring with Chisora again, using the experience gained from the win and training that little bit harder to try and beat Chisora just that little bit more convincingly.

Hopefully, this match will invigorate the rest of the heavyweight division as more fights like this are most definitely needed to keep up public interest. Far too many pointless and unappetising showdowns have left many of us looking elsewhere for that quality boxing entertainment.

Dereck and Dillian, I tip my hat to you both!

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Dereck Chisora Licensed in Luxembourg as the Klitschko Brothers Howl

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.

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David Haye Heaps Scorn Upon Dereck Chisora and “Idiot” Trainer; “Decapitates” Chisora in Video Game

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.”

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Frank Warren’s Open Letter To WBC Head Jose Sulaiman

Posted on 03/01/2012

In the wake of a statement issued by WBC president Jose Sulaiman, in which British fighter Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora was indefinitely banned from fighting and asked to submit to anger management therapy, boxing promoter Frank Warren has published an open letter in SunSport to state his views on the matter:

Mr Sulaiman,

I wish I could accuse you of having double standards. But I can’t, because I question whether you have any standards at all.

The way you have banned Dereck Chisora indefinitely, without even having the decency to call a hearing to establish the facts surrounding his recent bout against Vitali Klitschko, in my opinion shows you as a posturing, self-righteous egotist.

I learned of your decision through the media. You didn’t even let the British Boxing Board of Control, myself or Dereck know before you spoke to the world’s Press.

In any democracy, any man is innocent until proven guilty. But you appear to have set yourself up as judge, jury and executioner as far as Dereck is concerned.

You have announced an indefinite WBC ban on Dereck without a hearing and you have also said you will impose a ‘serious’ fine after you eventually do hold a hearing.

Again, you have found Chisora guilty without establishing any fact about what truly went on that night in Munich.

Not for one minute am I condoning what happened before the fight or with David Haye at the Press conference after the bout. I also believe boxing needs to discipline boxers who step out of line.

But I am staggered by how you have treated Dereck before you have heard any evidence from his side. It seems to me this is just a matter of convenience for your organisation.

Let me remind you how your organisation has dealt with other instances of indiscipline by boxers who wave the WBC flag.

Antonio Margarito was banned for a year by the California State Athletic Commission following the controversy over his hand wraps in the fight against Shane Mosley. He was accused of using some kind of plaster to make the bandages harder.

Without any WBC hearing, Margarito was then allowed to fight for a minor title in Mexico and made top contender to fight Manny Pacquiao.

Take Floyd Mayweather Jnr’s case, after he was found guilty of physically abusing a girlfriend.

You said the WBC should not touch Mayweather’s career or title as you wanted him to fight Manny Pacquiao.

I would like to remind you of the time you were injured in the brawl that took place between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, when Tyson disgustingly bit Lewis during the Press conference prior to their fight.

You didn’t call for a ban and rang me asking if you should sue those who hosted the conference and broadcast the fight because of the lack of security.

That is one of my issues with the events in Munich. But you don’t seem interested in what actually happened.

If Dereck Chisora was a world champion, would you be taking this stance?

Frank Warren

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Dereck Chisora Banned By World Boxing Council

Posted on 02/28/2012

by Johnny Walker

World Boxing Council heavyweight contender Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora has been banned from fighting and ordered to seek out anger management therapy as a result of the antics he engaged in before and after his recent failed title challenge against WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.

Chisora slapped Vitali hard in the face at the weigh-in, spat water in his brother Wladimir’s face during the ring introductions, and brawled with fellow UK heavyweight David Haye at the post-fight presser.

The WBC has issued the following statement on its website:

Jose Sulaiman, Mexico, president of The World Boxing Council has followed strictly all the actions related to the misconduct of Derek Chisora, that is considered one of the worst behaviors ever by a professional boxer, and we stand strongly with the BBB of C and the BDB to resolve this case immediately. The WBC is absolutely condemning behaviors that are not to be accepted in boxing under any circumstances and will act as soon as it can proceed to impose the fines and sanctions as we consider necessary.

The WBC is imposing a serious fine to be finally determined after the hearing to be held under the supervision of our counsel representative attorney Stephen Beverly. The WBC will also take off from the WBC rankings, the name of Derek Chisora and declare an indefinite suspension against fighting again for a WBC title, while demanding Chisora to take an anger management medical treatment after which his suspension will be reconsidered.

Boxing has won through the years an outstanding position in the world of sports and is liked by a President as well as by a shoe shine boy; the WBC has devoted at least 35 years for safety and boxing is today a sport that had only one fatal accident in minor boxing, that has overturned the past; boxers are gentlemen and show to the world an example of honor and fair play when after a tremendous battle, they go to the center of the ring to pay respect to each other.

Derek Chisora is not going to tarnish the sport for those born in the humblest beds, who become sports heroes of the world to live a life of dignity and pride. Chisora, however, as a human being that he is, is going to be strongly invited to enter an anger management rehabilitating program that hopefully will act in his benefit.

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