Derek Chisora praised Anthony Joshua’s efforts despite his defeat last weekend.
The WBA International heavyweight champion is managed by Joshua’s 258 MGT agency and was in Saudi Arabia on Saturday for his fellow Brit’s rematch loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
Chisora, who is a former opponent of the Ukrainian, was last in the ring last month when he beat Kubrat Pulev –– a former Joshua opponent –– in a rematch at the O2 Arena in London of their 2016 clash.
And the 38-year-old, who reportedly priced himself out of a trilogy showdown against WBC champion Tyson Fury, which is something he denies was ever close to happening, was full of adulation for the 32-year-old former two-time unified global ruler.
Chisora spoke to IntuBoxing in the tunnel at the Jeddah Superdome.
He said:
“He f**king died in there, he put it all on the line.
“He died in there, he let the punches go and he made the guy work hard.”
Joshua, who had something of a post-fight meltdown for which he has since apologised, is not content with his 24-3 record and wants to get back to winning ways sooner rather than later, targeting a potential ring return before the end of the year.
But ‘Del Boy’ doesn’t think that’s a good idea.
He added:
“‘AJ’ needs to just chill now, chill and relax, before he does anything else.”
Watch the full clip courtesy of IntuBoxing:
After beating Joshua, Usyk –– who outpointed Chisora in his second fight at heavyweight back in 2020 after becoming an undisputed cruiserweight champion and moving up in weight –– called out the aforementioned Fury for a potential showdown for all the marbles in the sport’s premier division which could be worth around £500million.
December 17 is being considered as the potential date for the fight that is likely to take place in Saudi Arabia, with an outdoor event on the eve of the 2022 FIFA World Cup final in neighbouring Qatar being eyed to be staged in the capital Riyadh.
Bob Arum, the 90-year-old Top Rank head honcho who looks after Fury’s Stateside affairs, has said that the fight is the biggest since Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, while Frank Warren of Queensberry, Fury’s UK promoter, said recently that the fight will get made with a potential 50-50 purse split.