Dereck Chisora

Early life

Chisora was born in Mbare, a suburb of the Zimbabwean capital Harare. As a teenager he attended Churchill School. Chisora and his family moved to the United Kingdom in 1999 and lived in Finchley, London.

Early career

Chisora turned professional on 17 February 2007, scoring a second round TKO against István Kecskés. After winning three more fights (all by decision), he came up against the toughest test of his career against fellow rising British heavyweight prospect, Sam Sexton. Chisora won the fight by stopping Sexton in the final 30 seconds of the final round. He moved on from the win over Sexton by beating Shawn Mclean, an American, at the Grosvenor House hotel in Mayfair, and then stopped the experienced Lee Swaby in 3 rounds at the York Hall. Chisora finished the year with a December victory over Neil Simpson at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London's Docklands leaving him with an 8–0 record at the end of his second year as a professional.

Chisora was suspended for four months for biting Paul Butlin during the fifth round of their 22 May 2009 contest at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. The incident was missed by the referee but TV replays proved conclusive and as a result Chisora missed out on his fight for a British title against Danny Williams. He was fined £2,500.

Chisora went on to defeat Zurab Noniashvili on 9 October, winning by TKO in three rounds at York Hall. On 20 January 2010, it was announced that he would get a second chance to face Danny Williams on 13 February 2010 after Sam Sexton was forced to withdraw injured from his match with Williams. Chisora welcomed the chance, saying, "It was my own fault the fight with Williams didn't go ahead, and I've been kicking myself ever since." Williams pulled out of the bout, however, and Chisora instead fought Carl Baker in an eliminator with the winner to face Williams. Chisora defeated Baker in the second round.

Chisora vs. Williams, Sexton II

On 15 May 2010, Chisora fought Danny Williams for the British heavyweight title which he won after stopping Williams in the second round. Chisora defeated a challenge from Sam Sexton by knockout in the ninth round on 18 September 2010, adding the Commonwealth heavyweight title to his British title.

2011–2012

Chisora was scheduled to face the IBF, IBO, WBO, Lineal and Ring Magazine heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko on 11 December 2010, but Klitschko pulled out of the fight three days prior with a torn abdominal muscle. The fight was later rescheduled for 30 April 2011, but this was later cancelled so Klitschko could fight David Haye on 2 July.

Chisora vs. Fury, Helenius

On 23 July 2011, Chisora defended his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles against the upcoming Tyson Fury, who like Chisora had a record of 14-0 entering the fight. The fight was also televised live in the United State on PPV. Outlet Integrated Sports picked up the fight charging $24.95 for a live airing at 3 p.m. EDT. Fury won by unanimous decision with scores of 117-112, 117-112 and 118-111. Promoter Mick Hennessy revealed the fight peaked at around 3 million viewers on Channel 5.

On 3 December, Chisora faced undefeated Robert Helenius in Helsinki, Finland for the vacant EBU heavyweight title. Helenius won by split decision after two judges scored the fight 115-113 to Helenius and the third scored it 115-113 to Chisora. The decision was highly debated as most pundits and onlookers thought Chisora had done enough to get the decision. The Ring considered the outcome of the match "a gift", dropping Helenius' ranking from fifth to sixth challenger. Chisora complained afterwards demanding a rematch on a neutral territory. Chisora defeated Remigijus Ziausys on 11 November in a 6 round points decision at the North Bridge Leisure Centre in Halifax, England. Referee John Latham scored the fight 60-54 in favour of Chisora.

Chisora vs. Klitschko

Sources in Germany reported that Chisora was likely to fight Ukrainian WBC Heavyweight Champion Vitali Klitschko on 18 February 2012 at Munich's Olympiahalle. Later, on 12 December 2011, it was confirmed that Klitschko would be Chisora's next opponent. Chisora slapped Klitschko at the weigh in for the heavyweight title fight and was widely criticised. Chisora is quoted as saying after the slap "I ain't come here to play games I come here to fight."

On 18 February, Chisora and Klitschko fought in Germany for the WBC Heavyweight Championship. After a close first round, Klitschko started to land his right hand in round two and continued to land clean power shots from a distance as the bout progressed. Chisora showed a good chin, and did the majority of his work to the body. The scores were 118–110, 118–110 and 119–111, giving a unanimous decision of victory to Klitschko. During a post-fight press conference following his loss to Klitschko, Chisora was involved in a confrontation with David Haye. Haye initially responded to a statement by Klitschko's manager Bernd Boente that no more British boxers would be given the right to challenge the Klitschkos. Chisora challenged Haye to a fight and taunted Haye over the toe injury he had suffered prior to his loss to Wladimir Klitschko, to which Haye responded that Chisora had lost his three previous fights. Chisora eventually left the stage to confront Haye, who met him with a right hook to the jaw, before both security and Chisora's entourage intervened to try and separate the two. The fight continued, and at one point Haye swung a camera tripod in Chisora's direction. The two were eventually pulled apart. During the confrontation, Chisora claimed he was glassed by Haye and was filmed saying he would shoot Haye and telling Haye's trainer, Adam Booth, that he would face Haye in the ring or hunt him down. The next morning, Chisora was arrested by German police but was later released without charge after questioning.

Chisora vs. Haye

On 14 March 2012, the British Boxing Board of Control withdrew Chisora's boxing licence due to his behaviour prior to and after his bout with Klitschko. The World Boxing Council has issued an indefinite suspension against Chisora fighting again for a WBC title, while demanding he take anger management medical treatment after which his suspension will be reconsidered. A year later, on 12 March 2013, the British Boxing Board of Control re-issued Chisora his license to box. However, despite not having a British license at the time Chisora was still able to fight under license from another country, and therefore was able to face David Haye at Upton Park on 14 July 2012, in a fight billed as 'Licensed to Thrill'. Haye outscored Chisora in the first two rounds but Chisora came back at him in the third and was able to hit him with several shots including a left hook that rattled Haye at the end of the round, the bell also appeared to ring early. Haye regained the edge towards the end of the fourth and in the fifth he knocked Chisora down with a left and right hook. Chisora got to his feet only for Haye to connect again with a series of punches that put Chisora down for second time. Although he beat the count again the referee waved it off which meant Haye won the fight by TKO.

Since the match with Haye, Chisora apparently has been working to change his out of ring image, no longer disrespecting opponents before fights and in press conferences. Chisora said, "If you look at fights from the golden era there wasn’t the same level of disrespect that you get now. There was no swearing on live television and things like that. Actually there were champions who used to shake hands and hang out but, when it came to fight time, you got a fight." Regarding the fight buildup, he also said, "We've decided to promote this fight a different way. We want the public to tune in to see us perform in the ring and not because we've been arguing. That's the route we're taking now, we want to give boxing a better image."

Chisora vs. Scott

Chisora had a good year in 2013, recovering well from his defeats the previous year. He scored four victories, all of which came by knockout including a controversial sixth round TKO win over undefeated American contender Malik Scott.

Chisora vs. Johnson, Fury II

On 27 January 2014, it was announced that Chisora would fight American boxer Kevin Johnson (29-4-1, 14 KOs) at the Copper Box in London on 15 February 2014. Chisora won by unanimous decision after twelve rounds. The official judges scorecards read 118-109, 118-109, and 118-110 in favour of Chisora. This set up a second fight against fellow Brit Tyson Fury in London, although after the fight, Chisora also called out former WBA 'regular' titleholder Alexander Povetkin.

Chisora and rival heavyweight contender Tyson Fury were due to meet on 26 July 2014 in a rematch. On 21 July, Chisora was forced to pull out after sustaining a fractured hand in training. Belarusian Alexander Ustinov was lined up as Chisora's replacement in the bout scheduled to take place at the Manchester Arena, Fury pulled out of the fight after his uncle and former trainer Hughie Fury was taken seriously ill. However, Fury and Chisora rescheduled the rematch for 29 November 2014 at ExCeL London. The bout was also a WBO title eliminator and shown live on BoxNation. The bout was dubbed 'The Fight for the Right' as it was a final eliminator for the WBO heavyweight title and a shot at champion Wladimir Klitschko. Chisora struggled with the ever improving Fury's height, reach and movement, with Fury winning the rounds comfortably until trainer Don Charles had seen enough and pulled Chisora out at the end of the tenth round. Fury used his jab to trouble Chisora and kept on the outside creating a distance with his longer reach. Chisora failed to land any telling punches, and due to Fury's awkward fighting style, end up hitting him below the belt. Chisora was warned by referee Marcus McDonnell in the first round.

Chisora vs. Pulev

After a period of eight months without a fight since his defeat to Fury, Chisora won five fights in five months against some lowly ranked European opponents which helped set up a fight for the recently vacated European heavyweight title against highly ranked Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in Hamburg on 7 May 2016.

The bout was also an eliminator for the IBF heavyweight title. Despite what had seemed a fairly comfortable points win for Pulev the fight ended in a split decision, with two judges scoring it 118-110 and 116-112 in Pulev's favour while the third scored it 115-113 for Chisora. The defeat left Chisora's chances of a world title shot against IBF champion Anthony Joshua in doubt.

Chisora made a comeback in Sweden on 10 September 2016 against Bosnian boxer Drazan Janjanin and scored a 2nd round knockout victory following a body shot. Although Janjanin beat the count, the referee waved the fight off.

Chisora vs. Whyte

Terms were finally agreed for a fight between Chisora and British heavyweight champion and London bitter rival Dillian Whyte to fight in a WBC title eliminator for Whyte's British heavyweight title. The fight took place in Manchester on the undercard of the fight Anthony Joshua vs. Éric Molina for the IBF heavyweight title. Chisora and Whyte were feuding over the year through social media. The hype continued through to the press conference on 7 December when, following Whyte's comment that he'd attack Chisora anytime he would see him after the fight, Chisora picked up the table he was sitting at and threw it towards Whyte, just missing everyone in the way which included the promoters and trainers. As a result, the BBBofC withdrew its sanction of the fight so that the British title was not at stake. Instead, Whyte's WBC International title was at stake. Chisora lost the fight on a controversial split decision with two judges scoring the fight 115-113 and 115-114 for Whyte and one scoring 115-114 in favour of Chisora. Whyte was hurt a number of times in the fight by Chisora in the 8th, 10th and 12th rounds. On two occasions in the 12th, Whyte was knocked off balance by Chisora after being hit with huge shots to the head. Post fight, Whyte stated he would not give Chisora a rematch but changed his mind later saying he would be open to a rematch. In March 2017, in an interview, Chisora claimed he offered Whyte £1.1 million for a rematch, which Whyte declined.

Cancelled Helenius rematch

On 24 March 2017, it was announced that Chisora would get his much awaited rematch against Finnish boxer Robert Helenius (24-1, 15 KOs) at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. The same arena they fought at when Helenius won a controversial split decision in December 2011. The bout would be contested for the vacant WBC Silver heavyweight title on 27 May 2017. In December 2015, the EBU ordered for Chisora and Helenius to meet where the winner would fight Anthony Joshua. A purse bid deadline was set for 21 January 2016, but no progress was made. The fight was postponed on 16 May to take place after Summer 2017. There was no specific reason given by promoter Nisse Sauerland as to why the fight had been postoned.

Signing with Matchroom Sport

On pursuing a rematch with Dillian Whyte, on 31 August 2017 Chisora announced that he had split with promoter Team Sauerland, but re-signed with manager Steve Goodwin. On 20 September Eddie Hearn announced that Chisora had signed with Matchroom Sport, making his debut on the Paul Butler-Stuart Hall undercard on 30 September at the Echo Arena in Liverpool live on Sky Sports. Hearn believed if Chisora could win two fights by the end of the year, possibly winning the European title in the process, he would have a good case to fight Whyte again. Hearn said, "You know what you are going to get with 'Del Boy', plenty of drama and a load of heart. He will return to action in Liverpool and challenge for the European title in November. We will work towards a Whyte rematch for early next year. It's a fight that I think boxing needs to see again."

Personal life

In November 2010, Chisora was found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend after finding text messages from another man on her phone. He narrowly escaped being sent to jail, and was given a 12-week prison sentence suspended for two years. He was ordered to pay £1,500 in compensation and £500 costs and complete 150 hours community work. The court was told that the fighter also had previous convictions for public order offences, assaulting a police officer and possession of an offensive weapon.

In November 2015, Chisora was stopped in his Bentley near Hyde Park in London. In September 2016, it was reported that Chisora was driving without a valid driving licence, insurance and MOT certificate. After initially being given six points, which would mean a six month driving ban, Chisora since appealed the ban blaming his insurance broker. A date of 10 October 2016 was set for the hearing. At a court hearing in January 2017, Chisora avoided a driving ban by claiming he thought he was insured after a payment had left his account, paying for two drivers.