Via Barry Holbrook: Derek Chisora was bitter despite not being given the opportunity to fight for the world title against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Chisora, 38 (33-12, 23 KOs) said that the only reason he was in this fight was because of Fury, when he told the promoters he wanted him, and they agreed. agree with that.
Chisora said that Bob Arum, Frank Warren and ESPN didn’t want to give him a chance against Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs). If what Chisora said is true, can you blame them? Chisora’s recent record is 1-3 in his last four games, and he’s ranked near the bottom of the WBC top 15.
Derek’s only win in the last three years was a questionable decision in the 12th split against 41-year-old Kubrat Pulev last July in London. He performed badly in that fight, looking like he was fighting in slow motion.
None of the other three sanctioning agencies have Chisora ranked in their top 15, and why should they? Losing three of the last four is reason enough for him not to break into the top 15.
Fury could have picked almost every heavyweight in the top 15, and fans would have reacted better. It would make a world of difference in ticket sales and pay-per-view numbers if Fury picked a better heavyweight for his December 3 bout.
Moving forward, you have to hope Fury doesn’t continue to pick opponents on his own instead of letting his promoters do their job because he’s damaging his popularity.
Too bad Fury’s final opponent is Dillian Whyte, who was recently knocked out by 40-year-old Alexandr Povetkin. Chisora is a shorter version of Whyte and less so.
“The guy gave me a chance. He said, ‘Do you want to fight? I will pay this amount.’ So why am I standing on the podium and talking nonsense about a guy who’s giving me a chance? Others don’t want to give me a chance. Bob Arum, Frank Warren, the people at ESPN didn’t want to give me a chance.” Derek Chisora said to iFL TV about him being offered the chance by Tyson Fury to receive a handsome sum of money.
“Tyson came out and said, ‘This is the game I want to be in. Either take it or leave it behind.’ Surname [Warren and Bob Arum] don’t want it. This is all Tyson. This is not them. Tyson just told them, ‘This is what I want. Do it now.’ That’s it. They don’t want to be here. That is the honest truth.
“Because that’s the way life is, man. That’s how people are,” Chisora said when asked why they didn’t want him to be Fury’s rival. “We are here only for Tyson Fury. We’re not here for Frank or Bob Arum or any of the other big boys at the top.
“I am here for Tyson Fury. Yes, we changed 100%. He’s changed, I’ve changed,” Chisora said of his and Fury’s transformation since they last fought in 2014. “It’s going to be a great fight.
“I want it to be 100,000. I usually fight better before 100,000. It’s okay, I’ll take 60,000,” Chisora said when informed that there would be 60,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium on Saturday night to cheer for his game.
“The style he’s trying to pursue, he’s going to get it right,” Chisora said when asked about Dillian Whyte’s match against Jermaine Franklin last weekend. “There were some rounds he hit better and other rounds he didn’t hit the right way. He has won.
“I can see you’re trying to get me to say stupid things about him. I can’t. Why me? He has won. We know why he won because they wanted the AJ fight to happen. That’s what happens when you fight on Eddie Hearn shows.
“What is DAZN producing? There are more YouTubers fighting on DAZN than there are professional fights. Guess what we’re watching? Youtuber fights,” Chisora said of DAZN.
