Derek Chisora, the ring artist formerly known as “Del Boy”, has found God and David Haye, serendipity visited on few, and has simultaneously rebooted his spirit and his body as he enters the autumnal days of a tumultuous boxing career.
The intake of breath that greeted the unveiling of the latest version of “War” Chisora, as he is now known, ahead of his rematch with Dillian Whyte at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night all but sucked the oxygen out of their heavyweight weigh-in. The last time they faced off before a fight, Chisora was fined £25,000 for hurling a table at Whyte; on Friday, there was nothing but goodwill to all men – and a lot of honed muscle.
Rarely, if ever, has the 34-year-old Chisora looked so trim going into battle. In 29 wins and eight losses over 11 eventful years, he has sometimes been lazy, occasionally diligent but, with a new nom de guerre and mentor in Haye (as well as God), Chisora seems prepared to give his sport and business the fullest attention.
He promises there will be “no more late nights partying, drinking and getting distracted by stuff that will take away from my dream”. And Haye, who knocked Chisora out in five rounds six years ago, says: “Derek has had opportunities in the past but hasn’t capitalised. Experience tells him that he needs to work hard and sacrifice.”
Experience also suggests appearances can deceive in boxing, and Whyte, four years younger than his gnarled opponent from north London, was one of the few in the auditorium on Friday to be unimpressed with Chisora’s remake.
Whyte’s own frame – boiled down to 246 1/2 pounds, four ounces heavier than Chisora’s – looks ready enough for the job, and it would be surprising if he did not win a fight that carries the winner into a challenge for Anthony Joshua’s three world titles at Wembley Stadium on 13 April.
“When it sparks it’s one of those fights that’s really going to kick off,” said Joshua, who stopped Whyte in the same ring three years ago. Others reckon it might be more of a cat-and-mouse affair. As Whyte’s trainer, Mark Tibbs, points out: “Dillian’s not just a good boxer, he can box and fight.”
For all the genuine excitement being generated about this re-run of their 2016 epic, Whyte-Chisora II is not the only Christmas show on sale on Saturday night, as exasperated boxing fans will know.
The look on Frank Warren’s face when it was suggested a face-off between himself and Eddie Hearn would make box-office television was as eloquent as any statement either of them have made about their edgy rivalry. It was over lunch in Warren’s favourite north London restaurant a couple of years ago, when he was exploring promotional opportunities for Tyson Fury. Rarely has an eyebrow been lifted with more contempt.
The London promoters have never spoken, which anyone outside the hot-house world of professional business would find odd, but that is the way they operate, giving the other not an inch – which has led to this absurd fixture clash.
Warren and Hearn know each other’s moves as well as Josh Warrington will read Carl Frampton’s proven, world-class skills just 200 miles north of the capital on Saturday night in defence of his IBF world featherweight title.
Hearn knew what he was doing when he scheduled his O2 Christmas show in November, two months after Warren had booked the same date at the Manchester Arena. This was an unadorned power-play by the Matchroom heavyweight, who reckons his Sky Sports base is financially stronger than the BT Sport home of Warren. Both are on pay-per-view, for £19.95. If they split a potential audience of 500,000 – as Warren suggests – everyone will be short-changed.
Hearn argues that he had to pair Whyte and Chisora before the new year, to allow the winner time to prepare for Joshua, and that the only date available at the O2 was on Saturday night. So here we all are again in Chaos City.
The numbers will tell the story and, while Frampton-Warrington will surely appeal more to the boxing purists and carries with it the cache of a world title, there will be a substantial blood-thirsty audience tuning in for carnage in the Whyte-Chisora collision – and not only because the first fight was such a war.
Since Whyte edged that one two Decembers ago in the same venue, each of them has been involved in fights that not only took them up a level or two, but revealed much about their character.
Whyte has delivered more quality drama, with a brutal knockout of the then unbeaten Australian, Lucas Browne, at the O2, before getting off the floor four months later to outpoint Joseph Parker, the New Zealander who had given Joshua plenty to think about in Cardiff in March.
However Chisora, whom Whyte acknowledges handles setbacks better than anyone in his division, rose like a forgotten soldier to stop the estimable and bull-like Carlos Takam with a finisher borne of desperation.
In Manchester, meanwhile, the advantage lies slightly with Warrington, who hit new heights of energy and excellence to take the title from the Welsh boxing master, Lee Selby, in May. Frampton, three years older at 31, has rebuilt his career after falling out with Barry McGuigan, but is still a formidable force. He will take it all the way to the closing bell.
