Dereck Chisora

As of April 2020, he is ranked as the world's ninth best active heavyweight by BoxRec.

On 11 March 2020, a fight between Chisora and undefeated former undisputed cruiserweight world champion Oleksandr Usyk was announced to take place at the O2 Arena in London on 23 May 2020, live on Sky Sports Box Officebut was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic

On 20 April 2019, as the co-main event to Dave Allen vs. Lucas Browne, Chisora in his first bout under new trainer Dave Coldwell, won a comfortable unanimous points decision on the judges' scorecards, which read 99–91, 100–90, and 100–91 against 29-year-old German boxer Senad Gashi, after 10 far from entertaining rounds against an opponent who frustrated the Briton with his elusive style at The O2 Arena. Gashi, who suffered the third defeat of his 20-fight professional career which included 17 early knockouts in 17 victories, switched southpaw from the opening bell, landed an effective counter punch in the second but Chisora connected with a good body shot in the third and took control of the fight. Chisora continued to be the aggressor throughout but his opponent survived to the end of the contest.

On 13 June 2019, a fight between Chisora and former world title challenger Artur Szpilka was announced to take place at the O2 Arena in London on 20 July 2019, with the bout taking place on the undercard of Dillian Whyte vs. Oscar Rivas live on Sky Sports Box Office. Chisora produced a ruthless display and defeated Szpilka via 2nd Round KO. In his interview outside the ring he stated that he wants to fight Joseph Parker next.

On 31 August 2019, a fight between Chisora and former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker was announced to take place at the O2 Arena in London on 26 October 2019, with the bout taking place as the co-main event to the World Boxing Super Series: Light welterweight final between Regis Prograis and Josh Taylor live on Sky Sports Box Office. On 1 October Parker pulled out of the fight due to illness.

On 8 October 2019, David Price was announced as Dereck Chisora's replacement opponent at the O2 Arena. Chisora pressured Price from the start of the contest and floored his opponent in the fourth round as the fight was called to a halt following the Price corner throwing in the towel.

Chisora endorsed the Brexit Party at the 2019 European Parliament elections.

After a month of speculation, on 15 June 2018, a fight between Chisora and former world title challenger Carlos Takam was finally announced to take place at the O2 Arena in London on 28 July 2018, with the bout taking place on the undercard of Dillian Whyte vs. Joseph Parker on Sky Box Office. Takam started the fight out-working Chisora, who spent most of the rounds against the ropes looking for counters. Chisora began to take more punishment as the fight progressed and fell clearly behind on the scorecards. At one point in round 6, referee Howard Foster was looking at possibly stopping the fight with Chisora taking shots against the ropes. By round 7, Takam was landing the better shots and looked to be on his way to an eventual stoppage win; however in round 8, Chisora connected with a big right hand to Takam's head, sending him to the canvas. Takam made it unsteadily to his feet and the fight resumed only for Chisora to immediately land an identical punch and drop Takam a second time. Foster then stopped the fight with 1 minute remaining in the round. With the win, Chisora claimed the vacant WBA International title. Promoter Hearn and pundits in the arena stated he had made his way back into the heavyweight title mix. After the bout, on who he would like to fight next, he said, "I definitely want the winner of the main event (Whyte vs. Parker)." Hearn stated in the post-fight press conference that he would issue a challenge to WBC champion Deontay Wilder to defend his title against Chisora in either Brooklyn or London.

In mid October 2018, Whyte and Cuban boxer Luis Ortiz appeared to have a war of words and called each other out, with Ortiz stating he would come to the UK and fight Whyte on 22 December, a potential PPV date allocated to the possible Whyte vs. Chisora rematch. After hearing this, Chisora came out saying 'No one wants to see that [Whyte-Ortiz]', that he was 'the Money Man' and Whyte should fight him if he wants to earn more money. Hearn also stated despite Ortiz putting his name forward, Chisora was the front-runner to fight Whyte.

On 24 March 2017, it was announced that Chisora would get his much awaited rematch against Finnish boxer Robert Helenius (24-1, 15 KOs) at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland. The same arena they fought at when Helenius won a controversial split decision in December 2011. The bout would be contested for the vacant WBC Silver heavyweight title on 27 May 2017. In December 2015, the EBU ordered for Chisora and Helenius to meet, where the winner would fight Anthony Joshua. A purse bid deadline was set for 21 January 2016, but no progress was made. The fight was postponed on 16 May to take place after Summer 2017. There was no specific reason given by promoter Nisse Sauerland as to why the fight had been postponed.

On pursuing a rematch with Dillian Whyte, on 31 August 2017, Chisora announced that he had split with promoter Team Sauerland, but re-signed with manager Steve Goodwin. On 20 September Eddie Hearn announced that Chisora had signed with Matchroom Sport, making his debut on the Paul Butler-Stuart Hall undercard on 30 September at the Echo Arena in Liverpool live on Sky Sports. Hearn believed if Chisora could win two fights by the end of the year, possibly winning the European title in the process, he would have a good case to fight Whyte again. Hearn said, "You know what you are going to get with 'Del Boy', plenty of drama and a load of heart. He will return to action in Liverpool and challenge for the European title in November. We will work towards a Whyte rematch for early next year. It's a fight that I think boxing needs to see again." Chisora fought Croatian boxer Robert Filipovic (4-2, 3 KOs) at the Echo Arena on 30 September. Filipovic was a late replacement for Jay McFarlane (3-3, 2 KOs). The fight was scheduled for 6 and ended in round 5 when the referee had seen enough, giving Chisora the win via TKO. Filipovic had two points deducted for holding on occasions, which was done to prolong the fight. Chisora explained that he had the power to put his opponent away, but wanted to enjoy the fight.

On 25 September, Hearn revealed Chisora would challenge European heavyweight champion Agit Kabayel (16-0, 12 KOs) at the Casino de Monte Carlo Salle Medcin in Monte Carlo, Monaco on 4 November 2017. In a lethargic performance, Chisora suffered a frustrating 12 round majority decision defeat. One judge scored the fight a 114–114 draw, whilst the remaining two judges' scored the fight 115–113 and 115–114 for Kabayel, giving Chisora his 8th professional loss. Chisora started the fight slow, remaining patient. He became more active after round 6, but failed to bustle the attack on Kabayel, who moved well with his feet. Kabayel also used quick combinations and jabs to win many of the rounds. Speaking to Sky Sports after the bout, Chisora said, "I'm not going to complain, I lost the fight. I always bounce back so I'm not worried." Eddie Hearn stated a rematch with Chisora and Whyte would still be possible.

After a period of eight months without a fight since his defeat to Fury, Chisora won five fights in five months against low ranked European opponents, helping set up a fight for the recently vacated European heavyweight title against highly ranked Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in Hamburg on 7 May 2016. The bout was also an eliminator for the IBF heavyweight title. Despite what had seemed a fairly comfortable points win for Pulev the fight ended in a split decision, with two judges scoring it 118–110 and 116–112 in Pulev's favour while the third scored it 115–113 for Chisora. The defeat left Chisora's chances of a world title shot against IBF champion Anthony Joshua in doubt.

Chisora made a comeback in Sweden on 10 September 2016 against Bosnian boxer Drazan Janjanin and scored a second-round knockout victory following a body shot. Although Janjanin beat the count, the referee waved the fight off.

In November 2015, Chisora was stopped in his Bentley near Hyde Park in London. In September 2016, it was reported that Chisora was driving without a valid driving licence, insurance and MOT certificate. After initially being given six points, which would mean a six-month driving ban, Chisora since appealed the ban blaming his insurance broker. A date of 10 October 2016 was set for the hearing. At a court hearing in January 2017, Chisora avoided a driving ban by claiming he thought he was insured after a payment had left his account, paying for two drivers.

On 11 October, the BBBofC ordered purse bids for a fight between Chisora and David Price for The latter's British heavyweight title, with the fight to potentially take place by February 2014. The purse bid was due on 13 November. Chisora's promoter Frank Warren won the purse bid, but a fight was not made.

Chisora and Fury were due to meet on 26 July 2014 in a rematch. On 21 July, Chisora was forced to pull out after sustaining a fractured hand in training. Belarusian Alexander Ustinov was lined up as Chisora's replacement in the bout scheduled to take place at the Manchester Arena, Fury pulled out of the fight after his uncle and former trainer Hughie Fury was taken seriously ill. Fury and Chisora rescheduled the rematch for 29 November 2014 at ExCeL London. The bout was shown live on BoxNation. The bout was dubbed 'The Fight for the Right' as it was a final eliminator for the WBO heavyweight title and a shot at champion Wladimir Klitschko. Chisora struggled with Fury's height, reach and movement, with Fury winning the rounds comfortably until trainer Don Charles had seen enough and pulled Chisora out at the end of the tenth round. Fury used his jab to trouble Chisora and kept on the outside creating a distance with his longer reach. Chisora failed to land any telling punches, and due to Fury's awkward fighting style, end up hitting him below the belt. Chisora was warned by referee Marcus McDonnell in the first round.

On 3 February 2018, whilst backstage at the O2 Arena in London for Lawrence Okolie vs. Isaac Chamberlain, Hearn told YouTube channel iFL TV, Chisora would be returning to the ring on 24 March on the undercard of Dillian Whyte vs. Lucas Browne, which would also take place at the O2 Arena. Also backstage, Chisora met with David Haye and Joe Joyce, where Chisora revealed Haye had contacted his manager Steve Goodwin and offered £60,000 for him to fight Joyce. Chisora later stated if the money was right, he would fight Joyce on the Tony Bellew vs. David Haye II card on 5 May 2018. After Joyce knocked out Rudolf Jozic on 16 February, Haye revealed a new six-figure offer would be presented to Chisora, which would see him earn around the same purse he received in his loss to Kabayel. On 1 March, Joyce claimed Chisora had rejected the fight completely. Matchroom confirmed French boxer Zakaria Azzouzi (14-2-2, 10 KOs) as Chisora's opponent. After a slow first round where Chisora used his jab and stalked Azzouzi, Chisora dropped Azzouzi with a big right hand in the next round. The fight was then stopped by referee Robert Williams after Azzouzi struggled to get to his feet. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:12 of round 2. After the fight, whilst being interviewed by the Sky Sports team, Chisora called over David Haye and his fighter Joe Joyce. Prior to calling them over, Chisora referred to Joyce as a Chihuahua. Chisora first asked Haye if he had confidence in Jocye and then stated, “In front of the British public on live television, I’ll make a deal with you right now: if he (Joyce) beats me you write me a cheque of £1, if I beat him you give me your purse against Tony (Bellew) and your TV rights.” Haye rejected the offer. Chisora then told Haye to not mention his name again. Haye told Sky Sports, “We offered him the same money he got for (Kubrat) Pulev, more money than he got for the European title, but you said no. Okay, we understand.”

On 3 December, Chisora faced undefeated Robert Helenius in Helsinki, Finland for the vacant European heavyweight title. Helenius won by split decision after two judges scored the fight 115–113 to Helenius and the third scored it 115–113 to Chisora. The decision was highly debated as most pundits and onlookers thought Chisora had done enough to get the decision. The Ring considered the outcome of the match "a gift", dropping Helenius' ranking from fifth to sixth challenger. Chisora complained afterwards demanding a rematch on a neutral territory.

On 18 February, Chisora and Klitschko fought in Germany for the WBC heavyweight championship. After a close first round, Klitschko started to land his right hand in round two and continued to land clean power shots from a distance as the bout progressed. Chisora showed a good chin, and did the majority of his work to the body. The scores were 118–110, 118–110, and 119–111, giving a unanimous decision of victory to Klitschko. During a post-fight press conference following his loss to Klitschko, Chisora was involved in a confrontation with David Haye. Haye initially responded to a statement by Klitschko's manager Bernd Boente that no more British boxers would be given the right to challenge the Klitschkos. Chisora challenged Haye to a fight and taunted Haye over the toe injury he had suffered prior to his loss to Wladimir Klitschko, to which Haye responded that Chisora had lost his three previous fights. Chisora eventually left the stage to confront Haye, who met him with a right hook to the jaw, before both security and Chisora's entourage intervened to try and separate the two. The fight continued, and at one point Haye swung a camera tripod in Chisora's direction. The two were eventually pulled apart. During the confrontation, Chisora claimed he was glassed by Haye and was filmed saying he would shoot Haye and telling Haye's trainer, Adam Booth, that he would face Haye in the ring or hunt him down. The next morning, Chisora was arrested by German police but was later released without charge after questioning.

In March 2013, Chisora was issued a new British Boxing Board of Control licence. Chisora said, "I'm glad that this whole episode is finally behind me and I can carry on with my boxing career in my own country and with a British Boxing Board of Control licence."

Chisora made his ring return on 20 April 2013 at the Wembley Arena in London. He fought journeyman Hector Alfredo Avila from Argentina. Chisora told ESPN that he would dedicate his victory to late former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who was an MP for Chisora's hometown of Finchley. Avila frustrated Chisora, but was eventually stopped in the ninth round. When asked whom he would like to fight next, Chisora mentioned British rival David Price.

It was confirmed that Chisora would return two months later on 20 July at the Wembley Arena, against undefeated American boxer Malik Scott (35–0–1, 12 KOs), for the vacant WBO International heavyweight title. Chisora won the bout via controversial knockout in round 6, following an over hand right. Scott was warned by the referee throughout the contest for repeated fouling and clinching, but was not penalized. Scott boxed well with his jab, while Chisora scored well with body punches. With 15 seconds left in the sixth round, Scott went down along the ropes from a right hand to the back of the ear, and took a knee, smiling. Scott got up at the count of nine, but then referee Edwards shouted "Out", ending the contest. Scott did not protest the seemingly premature stoppage but his corner did. Going into round six, Scott was ahead 48–47 on all three judges' scorecards. Scott's promoter, Dan Goossen stated he would lodge a protest. The BBBofC said they would not review the fight.

Chisora next fought on 21 September for the vacant European heavyweight title against 25-year-old German boxer Edmund Gerber (23–1) at the Copper Box Arena. The fight was announced 20 days prior to the fight taking place. Chisora controlled the fight from the opening bell, eventually drawing blood from Gerber after three rounds. The fight came to end in round five when Chisora threw combinations which went unanswered. The referee stepped in waiving the fight off. Chisora entered the ring in tears following the recent death of his mentor, Dean Powell. At the time of stoppage, Chisora was ahead 40–36 on all three judges' scorecards.

On 30 November, Chisora defended his WBO International title against late replacement Ondřej Pála (32–3, 22 KOs). The fight was also for the vacant WBA International title. Chisora was originally scheduled to fight Arnold Gjergjaj, who broke his ribs in sparring. He was then replaced with Italian Matteo Mudugno, who pulled out injured. Pála being the third choice. Pála landIng was able to land heavy left hooks in the first two rounds. In round three, Chisora trapped Pála in a corner and clubbed him to the head and body with a series of powerful shots which forced Pála to turn his back from the oncoming onslaught, forcing the referee to stop the contest. Chisora fought four times in 2013, winning all inside the distance.

Terms were finally agreed for a fight between Chisora and British heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte to fight in a WBC title eliminator for Whyte's British heavyweight title. The fight took place in Manchester on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs. Éric Molina heavyweight title fight. Chisora and Whyte were feuding over the year through social media. The hype continued through to the press conference on 7 December when, following Whyte's comment that he'd attack Chisora anytime he would see him after the fight, Chisora picked up the table he was sitting at and threw it towards Whyte, just missing everyone in the way which included the promoters and trainers. As a result, the BBBofC withdrew its sanction of the fight so that the British title was not at stake. Instead, Whyte's WBC International title was at stake. Chisora lost the fight by split decision with two judges scoring the fight 115–113 and 115–114 for Whyte and one scoring 115–114 in favour of Chisora. Whyte was hurt a number of times in the fight by Chisora in the eighth, tenth and twelfth rounds. On two occasions in the twelfth, Whyte was knocked off balance by Chisora after being hit with huge shots to the head. Post fight, Whyte stated he would not give Chisora a rematch, only to change his mind later to say the potential was there. In March 2017, in an interview, Chisora claimed he offered Whyte £1.1 million for a rematch, which Whyte declined.

Sources in Germany reported that Chisora was likely to fight Ukrainian WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko on 18 February 2012 at Munich's Olympiahalle. On 12 December 2011, it was confirmed that Klitschko would be Chisora's next opponent. Chisora slapped Klitschko at the weigh in for the heavyweight title fight and was widely criticised. Chisora is quoted as saying after the slap "I ain't come here to play games I come here to fight."

On 14 March 2012, the British Boxing Board of Control withdrew Chisora's boxing licence due to his behaviour prior to and after his bout with Klitschko. The WBC issued an indefinite suspension against Chisora fighting again for a WBC title, while demanding he take anger management treatment after which his suspension will be reconsidered. A year later, on 12 March 2013, the British Boxing Board of Control re-issued Chisora his license to box. However, despite not having a British license at the time Chisora was still able to fight under license from another country, and therefore was able to face David Haye at Upton Park on 14 July 2012, in a fight billed as 'Licensed to Thrill'. Haye outscored Chisora in the first two rounds but Chisora came back in the third and was able to land several shots including a left hook that rattled Haye at the end of the round. Haye regained the edge towards the end of the fourth and in the fifth he knocked Chisora down with a left and right hook. Chisora got to his feet, only for Haye to connect again with a series of punches that put Chisora down for second time. He managed to beat the count, but the referee deemed him unable to continue, giving Haye a TKO win.

On 17 October, it was reported that Chisora had hired former rival David Haye as his new manager. The news came as a shock as both Chisora and Haye had been rivals since before they had their grudge match in 2012 and in early 2018 were involved in broken down talks when Haye tried to persuade Chisora to fight his boxer Joe Joyce. Both Haye and Chisora sat down in the Sky studios and talked about their relationship, explaining how they came to a deal. They also stated that Chisora will no longer go by the name 'Del Boy' and would now be 'WAR'. On 22 October, Whyte told Sky Sports that Chisora needed to sign a deal quick or he would look at other options. On 1 November, the rematch was announced to take place on 22 December at The O2 Arena on Sky Sports Box Office. Chisora weighed 246.2 pounds, his lightest since he fought Kubrat Pulev and Whyte weighed 246.5 pounds. Chisora lost the fight via KO in the eleventh round. At the time of stoppage, two judges had Chisora ahead 95–94 and one judge had Whyte ahead 95–94.

On 23 July 2011, Chisora defended his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles against the upcoming prospect Tyson Fury, who like Chisora, had a record of 14–0 entering the fight. The fight was also televised live in the United States on PPV. Outlet Integrated Sports picked up the fight charging $24.95 for a live airing at 3 p.m. EDT. Fury won by unanimous decision with scores of 117–112, 117–112, and 118–111. Promoter Mick Hennessy revealed the fight peaked at around 3 million viewers on Channel 5.

Chisora went on to defeat Zurab Noniashvili on 9 October, winning by TKO in three rounds at York Hall. On 20 January 2010, it was announced that he would get a second chance to face Danny Williams on 13 February 2010 after Sam Sexton was forced to withdraw through injury from his match with Williams. Chisora welcomed the chance, saying, "It was my own fault the fight with Williams didn't go ahead, and I've been kicking myself ever since." Williams pulled out of the bout, however, and Chisora instead fought Carl Baker in an eliminator with the winner to face Williams. Chisora defeated Baker in the second round.

On 15 May 2010, Chisora fought Danny Williams for the British heavyweight title which he won after stopping Williams in the second round. Chisora defeated a challenge from Sam Sexton by knockout in the ninth round on 18 September 2010, adding the Commonwealth heavyweight title to his British title.

Chisora was scheduled to face the IBF, WBO, IBO, Lineal and Ring magazine heavyweight champion, Wladimir Klitschko on 11 December 2010, but Klitschko pulled out of the fight three days prior with a torn abdominal muscle. The fight was later rescheduled for 30 April 2011, but this was later cancelled so Klitschko could fight David Haye on 2 July.

In November 2010, Chisora was found guilty of assaulting his then-girlfriend after finding text messages from another man on her phone. He narrowly escaped being sent to prison, and was given a 12-week sentence suspended for two years. He was ordered to pay £1,500 in compensation and £500 costs and complete 150 hours community work. The court was told that the fighter also had previous convictions for public order offences, assaulting a police officer and possession of an offensive weapon.

Chisora was suspended for four months for biting Paul Butlin during the fifth round of their 22 May 2009 contest at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. The incident was missed by the referee but TV replays proved conclusive and as a result Chisora missed out on his fight for a British title against Danny Williams. He was fined £2,500.

Chisora turned professional on 17 February 2007, scoring a second round technical knockout (TKO) against István Kecskés. After winning three more fights (all by decision), he came up against the toughest test of his career in fellow rising British heavyweight prospect, Sam Sexton. Chisora won the fight by stopping Sexton in the final 30 seconds of the final round. He moved on from the win over Sexton by beating Shawn Mclean, an American, at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Mayfair, and then stopped the experienced Lee Swaby in three rounds at the York Hall. Chisora finished the year with a December victory over Neil Simpson at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre in London's Docklands leaving him with an 8–0 record at the end of his second year as a professional.

Chisora had around 20 amateur fights, which included winning the 2005 ABA super heavyweight title, after defeating Tom Dallas in the final, and a gold medal at the Four Nations Championships.

Dereck Chisora (born 29 December 1983) is a Zimbabwean-born British professional boxer. He has challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title against Vitali Klitschko in 2012. At regional level he has held multiple heavyweight titles, including the British and Commonwealth titles from 2010 to 2011, and the European title from 2013 to 2014. As an amateur, he won the ABA super heavyweight championship.

On 27 January 2014, it was announced that Chisora would fight American boxer Kevin Johnson (29-4-1, 14 KOs) at the Copper Box in London on 15 February 2014. Chisora won by unanimous decision after twelve rounds. The official judges' scorecards read 118–109, 118–109, and 118–110 in favour of Chisora. This set up a second fight against Tyson Fury in London, although after the fight, Chisora also called out former WBA (Regular) titleholder Alexander Povetkin.