A strange row has haunted the week building up to Dereck Chisoraโ€™s clash with Dillian Whyte at the O2 on Saturday (December 22).

Chisora has been complaining that Whyte has bewitched him with a curse of some sort, for Dillian itโ€™s all a misunderstanding after saying hello.

โ€œI am sitting there and said something to him and he started shouting in voodoo curses and black magic and stuff like that. I was like, saying the Hail Mary, let the curse go back or whatever. That is a bit weird. Everyone in the studio was looking at each other. He came with black magic talk,โ€ Chisora said cheerfully. โ€œI am so nervous right now I might have to get the whole congregation out from my church, come and bless the O2 arena.โ€

Whyte dismissed the story as something from Chisoraโ€™s imagination. โ€œDereck says dumb stuff. I just spoke to him in his own native tongue and he doesnโ€™t know it because he doesnโ€™t understand where heโ€™s from. He doesnโ€™t know anything, Dereck is a silly guy,โ€ Whyte said. โ€œI just said hello in his language and he was like โ€˜Jesus Christโ€™ and crossed himself. He doesnโ€™t understand.

โ€œDereck Chisora is way out there.โ€

Dillian Whyte

Whyte is adamant he will be improved from their first encounter in 2016. โ€œIโ€™ll be very different, much more controlled and mature. Iโ€™m physically and mentally stronger. David [Haye] says Dereck looks a different person on the scales but David looked great on the scales and look what happened to him. This is boxing, not bodybuilding. If you looked at [Tyson] Fury and [Deontay] Wilder youโ€™d pick Wilder to beat Fury by physique,โ€ Whyte said. “I thought Wilder got schooled. Heโ€™s another fighter with a protected record, heโ€™s fought nobody and hasnโ€™t followed the right channels. Heโ€™s been avoiding people and picking people and the minute he fights someone who stands in front go him, he couldnโ€™t hit Fury and he was right there.”

Dillian is refusing to dwell on the thought that victory over Chisora will set him up for a shot at old rival Anthony Joshua, now the unified IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight champion. โ€œIโ€™ve been told that for my last two, three fights. But letโ€™s see. As long as Iโ€™m progressing, they canโ€™t avoid me forever. Iโ€™m number one ranked in two governing bodies. After this fight Iโ€™ll be going for them so letโ€™s see what happens,โ€ Whyte said.

โ€œWeโ€™re always strategizing and planning. Iโ€™ve got one of the best teams out there. We always come up with things. Itโ€™s crazy. Me and my team speak so much, every day, sometimes 10, 12 calls a day. Theyโ€™re always strategizing, theyโ€™re always on it. So when two doors close, somethingโ€™s going to open up because they plan, they put things in place, theyโ€™re always arranging stuff. Itโ€™s only a matter of time. Weโ€™re like a massive spider spinning our web. Itโ€™s only a matter of time before somebody drops in the middle and pick them off.โ€

โ€œI wonโ€™t be having any needle with [Joshua]. I just go and do my job. He can be the bad guy this time,โ€ he added. โ€œHe should have fought Wilder already, to be honest, he should have. I thought even Tyson Fury. But now all of a sudden he doesnโ€™t want to fight Tyson Fury. But listen, heโ€™s doing his thing, heโ€™s progressed, heโ€™s got [three] world titles, I havenโ€™t got one so I canโ€™t really say much.โ€