Del Boy Is Ready To Go To War

By Ryan Waugh: Dereck Chisora is in tip top shape ahead of next month’s WBC heavyweight championship clash with champion Vitali Klitschko in Munich, Germany.

The 28-year-old from Finchley, north London, is according to his coach ‘In the best shape of his career-physically and mentally’ ahead of his mammoth task of dethroning the giant Ukrainian champion.

The media were today invited to his headquarters at Dollis Park, Finchley, north London to see how his final preparations were going before he sets off in a couple of weeks for Germany.

Chisora, who has a 15-2 (9) was in bullish mood ahead of the biggest fight of his life and said: “These are the sort of fights that you live for as a professional boxer-I’m loving every minute of the build up to this fight-if I wasn’t, what point would there be in me being involved or being ready to challenge for the WBC heavyweight championship.

“I didn’t know that the fight is the same weekend as the anniversary to when I made my debut five years ago against Istvan Kecskes-this could be fate and is an interesting stat.

“I’m in the best shape I have ever been in and at the end of the day-I am going into that ring to have a war-I’m not taking any risks-it will just be one big war.”

History

The Zimbabwe born Chisora certainly lacks no shortage of confidence but knows he faces a guy who has one of the greatest heavyweight records of recent generations.

He’s only the fourth heavyweight boxer in history along with Muhammad Ali, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis to win a heavyweight championship belt for the third time and this will be Klitschko’s 16th world heavyweight championship fight.

“Any fight you have as a professional-you could be fighting a no one, but you could break your hand, you could be out for a year-you could get caught with a lucky shot-every fight is hard,” said Chisora.

“Vitali might see the second round as a warm up for him, but for me the second round could be a warm down for him. He is going down in either the eighth round or the second round.

“It will go eight rounds maximum. I’m looking for a knock out in something like the sixth-eighth round to finish the job.”

In his last fight, Chisora looked to have clearly won his European heavyweight title challenge against the ‘Nordic Nightmare’ Robert Helenius in Helsinki, Finland, but was controversially deprived of the title by the judges, who awarded the fight to the hometown boxer.

Meanwhile, Klitschko, 40, who has a record of 43 wins and 40 KO’s with only two defeats-which were by way of injury, is taking nothing for granted.

“Chisora has proven in his last fights that he is very strong with his in-fighting. His great performance against Helenius showed that he should be the European champion but I won’t be intimidated by his trash talking,” said Klitschko.

The fight which will be screened on the UK’s only dedicated fight channel, Boxnation, will take place at the Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany on Saturday the 18 February.

January 25, 2012