Dereck Chisora believes Joseph Parker is feeling the fear ahead of their heavyweight clash at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday.
Veteran Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs), who gave WBO No.1 contender Oleksandr Usyk a solid 12-round test last October, feels he can topple Parker at the weekend in a fight that carries an air of unfinished business.
The duo were originally scheduled to meet in October 2019 before Parker withdrew after claiming he was suffering with the aftereffects of a spider bite. As a result, Chisora has come to doubt Parker’s fighting heart.
“I don’t blame him. Things happen, people pull out of fights. But you have to have a good excuse,” said Chisora. “Him saying he had a spider bite was shambles of an excuse to be honest with you. But it happens, what can I say? I’m going to punch him up. I’m expecting Joseph to run away. That is 100%. I know for a fact he’s going to run away.
“Great for him he’s looking to become a world champion, but it doesn’t mean nothing to me. I’m just going to pound on him when I see him. What can I do better than Joseph Parker? That’s a good question. Everything. The fight is going to be a great fight, we’re going to push on it, train hard and go crazy about it. You know the routine man – WAR. Expect what I always deliver. Beat the guy and pound on the guy. Destroy that guy. Confidence. I put the fear of god him in. I am bringing pain and war.
“Time is the most important thing, you know, and I don’t have much time in boxing, so anytime I go I’ll just take any fights I want to have because time is running out. Most people don’t want to fight me because I’m a headache. I bring it. I love fighting. I want the people at home to pay their money to watch me do what I need to do. I’m taking this fight because I want to win it.
“The way I look at it in boxing is, if you can bring numbers to the gate, bums on seats, you’re in a great position. If you don’t, you’re not. So when people say you’re in great position for fighting for titles and stuff like that, I don’t believe so. I just look at it like, ‘I’ve got a fight here and this is how many people are going to be watching my fight and I’m excited about that’. You know, being mandatory and in eliminators, it’s a headache. bro. I’m happy, I’m happy to fight. I’m happy to bring entertainment to people’s houses through television and stuff like that so I’m just excited and ready to go.”
Photo: Matchroom Boxing.