Dereck Chisora has a new trainer.
The veteran British heavyweight (32-10, 23 KOs) will step into battle once again on May 1 against Joseph Parker (28-2, 21 KOs) on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK.
The 37-year-old has called on the expertise of 57-year-old American Buddy McGirt. The former pro who amassed 80 fights over 15 years will be in the corner for Chisora in just under five weeks.
Parker, who has parted ways with long-time trainer Kevin Barry, has travelled to the UK for his preparations. The New Zealander will also have a new face in his corner in the shape of Irishman Andy Lee.
“Building on the team, preparing for war!” Chisora tweeted. “Getting the work in with Buddy McGirt,” as the pair stood next to one another for a photo to accompany the post.
As a professional McGirt won the IBF super lightweight title in 1988, defending it once against Howard Davis Jr before losing his championship to Meldrick Taylor the same year. ‘Buddy’ won a title at a second weight class beating Simon Brown in 1991 defending it twice before succumbing to the skills of the legendary Pernell Whittaker in 1993. The foes fought once again 18 months later but ‘Sweet Pea’ came out on top once again.
McGirt went on to train the likes of Byron Mitchell, Arturo Gatti, Paulie Malignaggi, Antonio Tarver, Matthew Macklin and, more recently, Sergey Kovalev.
With Chisora-Parker considered by many to be very much a crossroads fight, it will be interesting to see if McGirt can add anything new to the ‘War’ arsenal of his new charge.