Having twice unsuccessfully challenged for world honours, British heavyweight veteran Derek Chisora now looks unlikely to become a world champion, but ‘Del Boy’ has revealed that he recently turned down the opportunity to fight for a world title at the age of 42.
Chisora came up short against Deontay Wilder back in April, in a fight that was supposed to be his career finale, but still rumours of a return refuse to burn out, much like Chisora’s thirst for violence.
Nevertheless, Chisora has now been removed from the world rankings with all four recognised governing bodies, with his dream of finally claiming a world title – following previous failed attempts against Vitali Klitscko (2012) and Tyson Fury (2022) – looking all but over.
Speaking to Seconds Out though, Chisora has confirmed that he was offered a tempting shot at Murat Gassiev’s WBA heavyweight crown when Tony Yoka pulled out of their fight last week, but that he declined due to a lack of preparation.
“No, it didn’t cross my mind [to step in on short notice]. I was on holiday with the kids and then I got a phone call. I said, ‘I am going to Russia anyway, I would rather go and watch somebody else fight for it,’ – erm, liar!
“This is exactly what I did, KD [David Ghansa] called me, Nicole [Macdermott] called me and the numbers were ok. Then, I went and did a fitness test and my fitness test was not right, so I said, ‘You know what? just let it go,’
“I was not ready. Mentally, I was ready, but then you get in there and it’s like boom, boom, boom and you are like ‘What am I doing this for?’.”
Instead, the opportunity landed at the feet of Germany’s Peter Kadiru, but he was unable to capitalise and was halted after six rounds of one-sided action in Moscow, before Gassiev proceeded to call on a fight with Chisora during the post-fight interview.
