On Halloween evening, Zimbabwean-born, British boxing fan favourite Derek Chisora will be hoping to end the night with a treat, as he faces Ukrainian, Oleksandr Usyk.
Over the years fans have watched Chisora as he has played as many tricks as he has provided treats; here we take a look at the five most shocking moments from Derek’s career.
“You’re f**king me with no Vaseline!”
Chisora didn’t take too kindly to being the chief support to Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis back in October 2019.
Derek decided to give Eddie Hearn an ultimatum during the initial press conference as the heavyweight threatened to refuse to fight.
Scheduled to face Joseph Parker before eventually facing David Price, the fight was in jeopardy unless Chisora received a bigger pay cheque.
Promoter Hearn later revealed in a jovial mood it wasn’t the first time Chisora had asked for a pay rise.
Vitali’s Not So Happy Slap
In 2012, Chisora travelled to Munich in an attempt to win the WBC Heavyweight World Championship from the reigning champion, Vitali Klitschko.
When Derek Chisora is involved, fight week is rarely what should be a routine process. The day before the fateful night, the pair had weighed in and were ready to do battle, the challenger was too eager however.
Sporting a Union Jack bandana covering half of his face, Chisora who was dwarfed at the head-to-head, had decided to slap his opponent which only fuelled Klitschko’s motivation to win.
Chisora was unsuccessful in his title tilt despite his attempt at mind games.
Dillian Whyte’s Table Tennis
December 2016, a new British rivalry came to the fore with Chisora and fellow Londoner Dillian Whyte.
Both men like to play the role of the pantomime villain, but combining the two all hell broke loose.
Over the years the boxing fraternity have become accustomed to seeing all-action entertainment at a Chisora press conference almost as much as when he steps into the ring.
However, no one could quite believe their eyes when they saw the action unfold when Derek took on Dillian Whyte for the first time.
After some verbal back and forth Chisora asked Whyte if he, “thinks I’m a pussy, I’m a punk, you tell me right now!?’ Followed by throwing a table in the direction of Whyte and, his then trainer, Mark Tibbs.
A Bite to Eat at Butlin
In May 2009, long before Dillian Whyte had even made his debut, Chisora fought heavyweight journeyman Paul Butlin on his quest to win the British title.
During the fifth round silly Chisora had reared his head. During a clinch Butlin used the time to catch a breather. ‘Del Boy’, as he was known then, with his back against the ropes appeared to bite his opponent.
As he locked his jaw Butlin yelled, ‘f**king hell… He bit my ear!’ With the attention now brought to the referee’s attention the replays showed viewers exactly what had happened.
It isn’t the only time ‘War’ Chisora has pressed his lips against an opponent, as he proceeded to kiss Carl Baker whilst they were head-to-head.
We all remember ‘The Bite Fight’ between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, and more recently Kash Ali tasting defeat after having a taste of David Price. Now we remember Chisora vs Butlin.
David Haye: The Bottle Job
At a press conference in Munich 2012, David Haye had gone to hound Derek to entice him into an all-British showdown.
Things escalated fast between the pair as Chisora left the stage towards Haye asking him, ‘do you want to fight me?’ which led to the former Cruiserweight champion swinging at his future opponent, and client, whilst holding a bottle.
As the melee went on, a pile of bodies wrestled on the floor of this press conference. It was clear to hear Chisora bellowing in anger, ‘he just glassed me!’
The pair would go on to fight at Upton Park with their face-to-face deemed to be too fiery, with the two men were separated by fencing.
In a strange plot twist after Haye’s retirement he ventured into the management side of boxing and Chisora heads into the Usyk fight with Haye by his side.
Come Saturday night, whether Usyk gets a shock of his own is yet to be seen but one thing is for sure… there’ll be fireworks.
