BRITISH heavyweight veteran Derek Chisora has taken to the ring on 49 occasions and has remained steadfast in his plans to retire after the big five-oh. Now, ‘Del Boy’ has been linked to a surprise opponent for his finale, with Turki Al-Alshikh planning an out-of-the-blue encounter.
Chisora, 36-13 (23 KOs), has twice challenged for the heavyweight throne. His defeat to Vitali Klitschko came over a decade before his next unsuccessful bid against Tyson Fury in 2022, when he was dominated and stopped after 10 rounds.
That stadium fight shortcoming against ‘The Gypsy King’ seemed like the ideal opportunity for Chisora to call it a day, but the Zimbabwe-born fan-favourite refused to walk away from the sport.
Whilst his supporters winced and watched through their fingers in fear of a less self-controlled ending to the career of the 41-year-old, Chisora has shown no such concern and has instead strung together three straight victories.
A trifecta of decision wins against Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin, respectively, has marked the first three-fight win streak for Chisora since 2019. He has even been linked with a third world title challenge as a reward for his form.
However, it is now being reported that Al-Alshikh is attempting to have Chisora take on reigning IBF cruiserweight world champion, Jai Opetaia, 28-0 (23 KOs), if he can convince the Aussie southpaw to move up in weight after his next bout.
Speaking with Fox Sports Australia, Opetaia’s manager, Mick Francis, provided further detail.
“I’ve spoken with the IBF and said ‘if Jai goes up, where would you put him?’, and they’ve told me he would go straight to number three in their rankings. Turki Al-Alshikh also wants to make that fight with Chisora.
“I’ve spoken with Queensberry too, and they’re interested. Everyone knows that fight would be massive. There would be plenty of interest.
“Although, I’d hate to think how much money Chisora would want, because he’s going to get hurt. He’d be no match for Opetaia. I know Jai would hurt him.”
Opetaia has recently been ordered to take on Turkish-based German Huseyin Cinkara, 23-0 (19 KOs), in a mandatory defence of his cruiserweight crown, which could even take place in Istanbul later this year, opening the door for a clash with Chisora in early 2026.
Yet, Francis went on to explain that it is unlikely Opetaia can be tempted out of the cruiserweight division, due to his goal of becoming an undisputed champion and his quest for legacy rather than cash.
“Jai wants to be undisputed cruiserweight champion before moving up. He wants to be remembered as one of the greatest cruiserweights who ever lived.
“Guys like Evander Holyfield, David Haye and now Oleksandr Usyk, they are some really big names who started out in the cruiserweight division before moving up to also have massive impact as heavyweights and Jai wants to do the same.
“This isn’t all about money and titles for him. It’s about legacy.”
As a result, Chisora remains without an opponent, location or apparent plan for his send-off at present. Although the possible upcoming fragmentation of Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed title status would blow the heavyweight division wide open, and Chisora’s #2 IBF world ranking is sure to put a target on his back.
