Derek Chisora has been campaigning in the heavyweight division for over 17 years now but still it appears as though the fire burns deep. Despite calls for the British 48-veteran to hang up the gloves, ‘Del Boy’ is determined to have at least 50 professional bouts and his latest call out has come as a surprise to many.
Many fans felt as though Chisora should have walked away from the sport after each of his three consecutive losses against Oleksandr Usyk and twice against Joseph Parker, yet instead he was able to bounce back with a victory against Kubrat Pulev. That win was enough to earn Chisora a shot at the WBC world title, although many understandably disagreed, and a brutal knockout defeat to Tyson Fury ensued – providing Chisora with the perfect opportunity to pack in.
However, Chisora continues to stick around and has now secured back-to-back victories for the first time since 2019, with unanimous-decision wins over both Gerald Washington and Joe Joyce, the last of which was deemed as a major upset in the eyes of many. Following that victory over ‘The Juggernaut’, Chisora has revealed his intentions of fighting in Manchester this December, before finally retiring in 2025 after his fiftieth contest.
As far as opponents go, speculators have mentioned the names of Jarrell Miller, Moses Itauma, Dillian Whyte and Frazer Clarke, but Chisora went in an entirely different direction on his social media where shared a fight poster for a potential showdown between he and his close friend Tony Bellew.
👀 @TonyBellewpic.twitter.com/mKZOZNXQvH
— Derek Chisora 🥊 (@DerekWarChisora) August 8, 2024
In response, Bellew, who retired in 2019 following defeat to Usyk in a bid for the undisputed cruiserweight title, told iFL TV that there is ‘absolutely no chance’ of him coming out of retirement to take on his old pal, regardless of how entertaining he believes such an encounter would prove to be.
“No, it is not happening. I love Derek, I love him like a big brother. He claims to be my little brother, he claims to be younger than me, there is absolutely no chance that Derek is younger than me.
“We have sparred hundreds of rounds together and anyone that has seen them rounds will attest to how good those rounds were. Styles make fights but I would never put ten-ounce gloves on and want to hit Derek Chisora because I just couldn’t hurt him.
“No, [even for a huge amount of money], I still I wouldn’t fight him. I’d have to have a conversation but no – I wouldn’t want to punch my mate in the face.”
For now at least, conversations as to who will share the ring with Chisora in December continue, but there will be plenty of interested suitors who feel as though the 40-year-old’s performance against Joyce was inflated because of Joyce’s underperformance.
Regardless, Chisora is likely to be ranked within the top ten of all four sanctioning bodies within the near future and represents a huge chance for domestic talents such as Itauma and Clarke to progress.
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