EDITOR’S LETTER
‘Del Boy’ Chisora gets it right at last
THE truculence of Dereck Chisora is both infamous and infuriating. Anyone who has managed, promoted, trained, socialised with, or even just attempted to talk to Chisora can probably tell you a Chisora horror story.
Don’t get me wrong, they will have also experienced the chatty and funny and loveable Chisora. But the flipside of that mischief, when he decides he doesn’t want to answer a single question, follow the most basic instruction or just argue for the sake of arguing, will be familiar too. I will never forget our first meeting back in 2010. After months of asking to be interviewed and setting the date for us to get together, Chisora seemed to take great pleasure in ignoring my presence as I followed him all over London with a dictaphone. My patience eventually ran out when he agreed to give me his full attention one minute, only to disappear underneath the London Eye the next.
With hindsight, it could have been a lot worse. His rivals regale tales of being bitten, spat on, slapped at weigh-ins, punched at press conferences and of tables being hurled at their heads. Chisora does as he pleases, you see. It’s been that failure to play by the rules that has landed the Zimbabwe-born Londoner in seemingly endless trouble over the years. He’s been hauled up in front of the British Boxing Board of Control numerous times, alienated promoters and potential opponents. But one can also argue it’s that stubbornness, that fearlessness of the consequences, which has made Chisora such a special fighter and unforgettable character.
On Saturday night, perhaps for the first time, the heavyweight enigma channelled his unpredictability the right way when he smashed Carlos Takam to pieces to conclude a stunning fight. For seven rounds, as he invited Takam to do his worst, his tactics looked insane. But then, no one wears insane quite like Dereck Chisora. No other fighter would have the mindset to fight Takam in that way. Now he finds himself back among the heavyweight elite via the best right hand he’s thrown.
Also consider what he went through in the ring over the years and yet still found the tenacity, skill and self-belief to craft such a perfect punch. Eight losses – some controversial, some avoidable, some damaging – is a hefty number in an age where the protected prosper and unbeaten records are everything. Chisora has never backed down from a challenge. He’s taken fights on the continent (who can forget the way he was shamelessly robbed in Finland against Robert Helenius), and fights he was not supposed to win. Yet he’s always believed in himself.
Of course, we should not get too carried away. This wasn’t exactly Muhammad Ali beating George Foreman or Foreman beating Michael Moorer. Takam is no Foreman or Moorer and Chisora is certainly no Ali or Foreman. But it’s all relative. And after years of being the bad boy, of being a nearly man and a nuisance to himself and others, Dereck Chisora became Dereck Chisora, one of the gutsiest and most popular fighters in the country. SPECIAL mention should also go to Chisora’s long-suffering trainer, Don Charles, who has shown faith in the heavyweight for many years. He has always believed that Chisora, when motivated and in the right head space, is one of the best heavyweights in the world. Despite numerous arguments and separations over the years, the bond between the two was clear to see on Saturday night. With anyone else in Chisora’s corner during such a violent bout, the outcome would likely have been different. DILLIAN WHYTE deserves a world title shot. That may bother some but since he lost to Anthony Joshua in 2015 he has notched victories over Dereck Chisora, Robert Helenius, Lucas Browne and Joseph Parker. While plenty will say a rematch with Joshua is a shameful money-making exercise, show me another heavyweight – Deontay Wilder withstanding – who has done more in the last two years to earn a shot at the division leader.
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