BOXING MATCH: David Chisora v. Vitali Klitschko.............

Rutashubanyuma

Rutashubanyuma

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Sep 24, 2010
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[h=1] Chisora has the tools to upset Klitschko
[/h]
Dereck Chisora is a huge underdog against Vitali Klitschko, but he's still confident he can upset the odds





dereck-chisora.jpg
Preparing for an upset: The odds are stacked against Dereck Chisora against Vitali Klitschko
Dereck Chisora is on a mission *impossible this Saturday when he tries to become the first man since Lennox Lewis in 2003 to beat Vitali Klitschko.
Chisora will start as a massive underdog against the iron-fisted and seemingly unbeatable WBC *heavyweight champion knowing that Klitschko has lost just a couple rounds in his last 11 fights.
Del Boy, who has won 15 of his 17 fights, admitted: “Vitali’s a big bully. He knocks people out for fun."

Klitschko’s statistics are a lot more impressive, with the frightening and towering champion knocking out or stopping 40 of his 43 victims.
Chisora added: “I’m the underdog and that suits me because I’ll be the hungry fighter in that ring.
"I will not quit like so many of his former challengers.
“Vitali will know he has been in a fight and it will be a fight and not a boring dance.
"He’s 40, he’s slow and I know that I can pull off the shock – he’s only a man like me and I’ve more desire.
A Chisora victory would be one of the *biggest upsets in *British sport.
But Chisora, who owns a three-wheeler from Only Fools and Horses, a London taxi and a Smart car, is crazy enough to pull it off.

 
Tangu odlanier solis ashindwe kumkalisha klitscho baada ya kuumia!sioni bondia katika heavyweight anayeweza kuwashinda klitshos brothers
 
[h=1]Dereck Chisora: Vitali is much tougher than Wladimir but I'm excited[/h] The boxer with a liking for Graham Norton's coats is not intimidated by the reigning WBC heavyweight champion




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Derek Chisora says he is motivated by the prospect of facing Vitali Klitschko. Photograph: Tom Jenkins for the Guardian

Strangeness wraps itself around Dereck Chisora as completely as a glove covers his fist. And so, during his last days in London before leaving for Munich, and a dangerous WBC world heavyweight title bout on Saturday against the imposing champion, Vitali Klitschko, it seems natural that an interview with Chisora should cross surreal terrain.
We start with Richard Keys, pursue Graham Norton, carry out an interview in the backseat of a car driving through town, discuss bisexuality, take in 10 rounds of sparring and then continue talking on the sweat-splattered apron of a ring. Welcome to another ordinary day in the life of a Zimbabwean-born, north London underdog – Del-Boy Chisora, who uses the theme tune from Only Fools and Horses for his walk to the ring.
Keys finds me first. Wreathed in smiles and profuse apologies for delaying Chisora, after he and Andy Gray had chit-chatted with the often truculent boxer on live radio, Keys delivers some cheery advice in the TalkSport studios. "You've got to watch yourself here," he says, winking and nodding at the fighter.
Chisora, however, is intent on leading us downstairs so that he can meet Norton – or at least the stylist for the chat-show host. Our car waits outside while the heavyweight, who loves the jackets and coats favoured by the happily camp Norton, swaps email addresses with a production assistant.
"If he doesn't answer me," Chisora says as we settle down behind our silent driver, "I'll just come back. I like Graham Norton's coats, man."
Klitschko's ominous shadow soon dwarfs thoughts of Norton's dapper look. Chisora stares bleakly at the snow-lined streets. "I'm doing good," he says quietly. "I'm motivated. The only difficult thing is the last week before the fight. There's nothing you can do. You have to relax your mind. But time is the danger, especially in the last hours. That's when you've got to stay calm."
Chisora listens closely to an anecdote about the younger Klitschko brother, Wladimir, who holds four other versions of the world heavyweight title to ensure a once glittering division is now the private fiefdom of a Ukrainian family. Wladimir twice pulled out of fights against Chisora – and I tell the Londoner how the more urbane Klitschko brother admitted to me that he was unsettled by "crazy street guys". Wladimir asked me if I thought Chisora might be crazy. "Possibly," I said, a reply which makes Chisora grin broadly.
"There was fear in Wladimir," Chisora says. "He suddenly realised I was coming to fight. He wasn't ready and he thought, 'Christ, what have I got involved in here?' Emanuel Steward [the American trainer] pulled the plug four days before the fight. That's why they pay Steward so much money."
Wladimir repeated the stunt last year when, having re-signed to fight Chisora, he withdrew and accepted a unification contest with David Haye instead. "We knew Haye wouldn't do much," Chisora sneers. "As soon as the first jab landed he folded. Haye decided to survive 12 rounds rather than risk a knockout."
The Londoner now faces the more intimidating Klitschko brother. "Vitali is much tougher than Wladimir. And he loves fighting. That's why we're going to see a great fight. Most guys are defeated before they step into the ring with the Klitschkos. They start shaking with fear in their boots. But I'm excited."
It's hard to detect any excitement in Chisora. Did he see the terrible beating that Shannon Briggs, a big American heavyweight, received from Klitschko? "Yeah," he says. "The psychology of the Klitschkos is to be nice to you before the fight and then destroy you in the ring. With them it's just business. But Briggs is stupid. He stood there and did nothing. So I have to take it to Vitali – without a doubt. Vitali don't like going backwards. I've got to go at him from the start, fight inside and hurt him."
Chisora is capable of distressing violence. Fourteen months ago he was found guilty of attacking his former girlfriend after he apparently found messages from another man on her phone. "[The judge] said he was going to lock me up for 12 weeks. He was looking down at me. He wasn't fair," Chisora says.
Yet, in the end, Chisora was sentenced to a suspended 12-week prison term with 150 hours of community service. "I liked it," he confirms, smiling with sudden warmth. "It was giving back to the community. I went round to hospitals and moved heavy furniture. I painted seating in an old people's home. I'd do that for nothing. I went to a school and built a chicken shack for the kids. That was cool. There's no harm in that. Only good."
Chisora, however, has an edge to his character. What other heavyweight would mock Klitschko's apparently rigid heterosexuality? In a face-off for BoxNation, Frank Warren's TV channel which will screen the fight, Klitschko and Chisora sat at a table with the commentator John Rawling. The astute Rawling pointed out to Klitschko that his opponent was capable of anything – Chisora had bitten one opponent in the ring while kissing another at a press conference. "I'm very conservative," Klitschko smiled. "I only kiss women."
Chisora, staring at the champion, drawled back: "I swing both ways, player, I swing both ways. Don't worry about that. I swing both ways."
"I don't wish to take a kiss from you," Klitschko said, primly.
"You know what they say?" Chisora asked. "Once you've gone black, you can't go back."
Outside his gym in Finchley, I ask Chisora if this was merely warped Tyson-esque fight psychology or if he was interested in making an important point about sexuality. "There's nothing wrong with being gay or lesbian," he says, pausing at the glass doors. "If my cousin was gay I'd support him. If my sister was a lesbian I'd support her. I didn't say I was gay."
Chisora said, seriously or not, that he swung both ways. That seems pretty brave when so many gay sportsmen find it impossible to come out. "People are ignorant," Chisora says as we step inside. "Bisexuality started a long, long time ago. You just have to support it. There's nothing wrong with it. We all bleed the same, we're all going one way in the end – six feet down. I support the gays 24/7."
Promising that we will talk more after training, Chisora warms up while office girls are put through their lunchtime workouts around him. It's not quite the setting for a world title camp – apart from 'The Bigger They Are …' banners draped above the ring. Klitschko's face stares down at us.
In the ring, as Chisora pummels Ali Adams, the London Iranian preparing to fight Audley Harrison, it's hard to forget his warm words on sexual tolerance. Is this the same man who nearly went to jail for hitting a woman? Is this a crazy wild card who may shake up heavyweight boxing?
The blows fly from Chisora, some landing low and some banging into the body, as he works with intent. His T-shirt is soon soaked with sweat and he looks incredulous when told he has sparred 10 rounds.
"I thought that was only six," Chisora says, ripping off his headguard and gloves, and unwrapping his bandaged hands. I'm still intrigued by his earlier comments. "I don't judge anyone," Chisora says.
"Most of our clients here, in my gym, are gay. They're cool people. And I haven't got any problems with bisexuals. My mum's doctor is gay. There's no problem with that. I speak to him. My girlfriend's hairdresser is gay and I joke with him all the time. He tells me everything that's going on."
It is unusual to hear a sportsman talk so openly about sexual diversity. "The world is changing," Chisora says. "If people don't change they're going to suffer."
Chisora seemed happy to imply, at least to Klitschko, that he may be bisexual. "People can say what they want to say," Chisora shrugs. "It's up to them. I don't care."
It would be a powerful statement if a boxer proclaimed his bisexuality just before a world title fight. "I could be, I could not be," Chisora says of his possible bisexuality. "Who knows? Only I know."
Chisora smiles; but I repeat the extent to which many sportsmen feel compelled to hide the truth about themselves. "You know what, "Chisora says, "they do have to hide. That's why I really respect that rugby player from Wales [Gareth Thomas] who came out. I respect him a lot. We've got to support every gay person. I personally am not gay – but I've got friends who are gay and I'm always with them. It doesn't make me gay."
Beyond challenging the public constraints that constrict all sportsmen, Chisora's sexuality should remain private. His personal choice will have no bearing on a brutal night in the ring. Lennox Lewis, in 2003, was the last man to defeat Klitschko when he was fortunate the Ukrainian was badly cut. The fight had to be stopped, even though Klitschko was ahead on points. Lewis never fought again – but he believes Chisora may have a chance against Klitschko.
"Any decent heavyweight has a chance," Chisora says. "Vitali was winning that fight and, if it hadn't been for that cut, Lennox would still be fighting, trying to get his titles back."
Does the 28-year-old find hope in the fact Klitschko is now 40? "No," Chisora says. "Age ain't nothing to Vitali."
What are his weaknesses? "His weaknesses?" Chisora echoes. "I couldn't answer." But he has surely seen some defects in Klitschko's robotic technique? "He's always got his hands down."
How many people will support Chisora in Munich? "There are nine in my team and they're expecting 15,000 Germans for Klitschko. But nine people can do a lot."
During his last fight, which he clearly won before the judges in Helsinki awarded the decision to Robert Hellenius, the unbeaten Finn, Chisora endured abuse. "It was a badly racist atmosphere. Some of my Jewish friends were there and they took real nasty words. I got it too. But we didn't care. I won the fight, in front of 15,000, and they gave him the decision. But I boxed great. I could get over the fact that they robbed me."
Chisora, rather than the lumbering Hellenius, has been given the loaded chance of risking much against Klitschko. "I'm calm now," Chisora says. "This is how I look at it. It's like a script for a Rocky movie. I think there's a Rocky theme going on in my life. You never know what might happen next with me."
Vitali Klitschko v Dereck Chisora will be screened exclusively on BoxNation (Sky 456, Virgin 546)
 
[h=2]WBC heavyweight title fight, Munich[/h] [h=1]Dereck Chisora slaps Vitali Klitschko at weigh-in for WBC title[/h] • Pair pulled apart after face-to-face stare-down
• Klitschko vows to make opponent pay for stunt




Watch Dereck Chisora slap Vitali Klitschko at their weigh-in Link to this video Nobody could accuse Dereck Chisora of ignoring the finer traditions of the fight game. Heavyweight boxing has had its share of volcanic characters – Mike Tyson, Oliver McCall and Herbie Hide in recent times – but Chisora gambled beyond his resources when he slapped the concrete slab masquerading as the chin of Vitali Klitschko at today's weigh-in for their world heavyweight title fight at the Olympiahalle.
The Finchley fighter, cool all week, boiled over in snowbound Munich on the eve of the biggest night of his life – and he picked the wrong family.
Chisora's fellow-Londoner David Haye went down this pot-holed road of theatrical pre-fight boorishness with Vitali's brother, Wladimir, in Hamburg last July (although he kept it verbal) and ended up on the end of the Klitschko jab for 12 rounds. Haye lost his WBA title and his dignity, a toe-curlingly poor exit from the big time. The Klitschkos really are as cool as they appear.
In the flash of a photo opportunity, Chisora has made a tough assignment immeasurably more difficult. "No one expected him to do that," his manager, Francis Warren, said. "It's not something we would condone." His trainer, Don Charles, said it was "unacceptable".
Klitschko was heard to say: "You're ****ed now, Dereck, you are really ****ed." He added: "I'll be hitting him back tomorrow, in the ring. He's not all there. Dereck is full of nervousness and I feel he is afraid, otherwise he would not have jumped back like he did. He hit me not like a boxer but like a woman, with an open hand. If he wants to fight properly, he must do that with his fists."
Chisora could face a fine of $50,000 (£31,600) from the World Boxing Council, whose president, José Sulaimán, described the slap as "an absolute disgrace".
If Chisora, 28 going on 12, a 17-fight novice with a big punch and surplus of adrenaline, thought he was going to upset a 40-year-old hard man going into his 16th world title fight with a sucker-tap to the jaw, he has been listening to the wrong people, or not listening to the right people. He is a law unto himself, which makes him dangerous – to himself as well as others.
No one really knows Chisora, a boy/man in search of an identity. He speaks Shona and north London wanna-buy-a-suit street. The kid who arrived in the UK from Zimbabwe aged 16 as a refugee from Robert Mugabe's bush wars collects old red telephone boxes, is saving up to buy a London bus, at least making him stand out among his neighbours on the Finchley fringes of the posh Hampstead Garden Suburb.
Like Trotters Independent Traders, "Del Boy" Chisora has taken the order but is yet to deliver.
He trades in enigma. He might kiss you or bite you, as he has done to opponents in the past, and, bored by the low-key ambience here this week, he thought about planting a smacker on the lips of the best heavyweight in the world. Instead, he chose a staged right-hander.
Chisora seems to be stranded between self-conscious menace and inner doubt. He would finish it in eight rounds, he said earlier in the week. "This is one cat who isn't scared of him," he said, trying to blank the champion, "or anyone." Klitschko was unmoved, the Titanic nudged by a pesky tugboat.
Friday's shot was a stiff one, but not enough to disturb Klitschko's Zen-like calm.
Chisora, nonetheless, is a puzzle to be solved and a fighter for rich title-holders to entertain largely because he comes cheaper than a dodgy blow-up doll. He is 17st 3lb of cut-rate chaos, 2lb lighter than the champion.
If, however, Chisora can land a proper blow on the Ukrainian behemoth on Saturday night, the gathering will rise in their uniquely German and unemotional appreciation of the fight game to acclaim the biggest shock in heavyweight boxing since Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in Tokyo 22 years ago.
That is the size of the challenger's task. In boxing's mountaineering argot, the Klitschko brothers represent K1 and K2.
If Klitschko has an off-night Chisora, who knows he may not pass this way again in a hurry, could be Johnny-on-the-spot. Except Klitschko does not do off-nights. Nor does he have many off-rounds, or even off-minutes. Since he returned to boxing in 2008 with rebuilt knees that gave up on him after he belted Danny Williams into painful, noble defeat four years earlier, Klitschko has dismissed seven opponents with the cold eye of a hit-man. As long as his body holds up (his back has troubled him and he has not trained at full bore for some time), he is the best – not quite as quick or skilful as his brother, but more intimidating by a stretch.
Lennox Lewis, who beat Klitschko on cuts in 2003 then frustrated him by walking away from boxing, says: "Coupled with their experience and skills, it's not surprising that [the Klitschkos] own the division. [The] competition is either too old, unconditioned or [too] young. I haven't seen enough of David Price, Seth Mitchell or Deontay Wilder to form a good opinion. As far as I know, they are good up-and-coming talent. Chisora has a chance, though."
While Chisora is gargantuanly unsubtle, a fighter not so much of craft as instinct, his will is immense. It dwarfs his pedigree and, some times, his discipline. Everyone else might sense doom but he is oblivious to it, and that is a strength. He also probably knows more about the mystery of boxing than its nuances and loves the story of how his hero, Muhammad Ali, spooked Sonny Liston the first time they fought (then did it again), beating his mind with his orchestrated craziness before breaking his spirit and body.
His favourite Ali line is one of the great man's least remembered: "People don't realise what they had 'til it's gone. Like President Kennedy – nobody like him. Like The Beatles, there will never be anything like them. Like my man, Elvis Presley – I was the Elvis of boxing." Chisora likes to think he is the Derek Trotter of boxing. Or will he turn out to be a plonker like Rodney?
 
[h=1]Dereck Chisora makes Vitali Klitschko fight to retain crown[/h] • Dereck Chisora loses WBC heavyweight title fight on points
• Vitali Klitschko pushed all the way by British fighter




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Vitali Klitschko, right, takes evasive action as challenger Dereck Chisora swings a left during their world title fight in Munich. Photograph: Matthias Schrader/AP

Even the declaration of David Haye that he is finally willing to fight Vitali Klitschko could not steal the thunder of Dereck Chisora's brave losing effort over 12 don't blink round rounds in front of 13,000 of the champion's adoring German fans. The judges gave it to Klitschko 118-110, 118-110, 119-111 in the eighth defence of the title and that was about right.
The evening ended in chaos and shame when Chisora and Haye, as well as their handlers, engaged in an ugly brawl that left Haye's trainer Adam Booth with blood running from a wound in his head. Chisora further disgraced himself when he claimed that Haye has "glassed him"and then made serious threats against him.
Earlier, the loser had been as hard on himself as he sometimes is on those who put faith in him when he said: "I was not proud of my performance and think I let my fans down, but he did nothing that surprised me, nor did he hurt me."
I gave the challenger three rounds and a share of two others but numbers could not tell the story of his heads-down grit-and-hook attacks, nor of his occasional success. His promoter, Frank Warren, immediately demanded a rematch - or a fight with Vitali's brother Wladimir.
If all the parties are roughly in the same negotiating zone, a fight against the younger brother might make sense, if only because there is virtually nobody else of ticket-selling pedigree for either of these fine champions left to fight.
At least he did better against Vitali than Haye did against Wladimir last July. Haye, who has been playing cat and mouse with the Klitschkos, later dropped a minor bombshell when he said: "I am ready to fight Vitali"
Ultimately, Chisora fought about as well as he is capable – whatever his self-critique –which was a good way short of what was needed to move the mountain in front of him. Klitschko? He did again what he has done 43 times in 45 previous fights: won with all the mechanical efficiency of a fighter comfortable with his method. Having endured two cancellations against Wladimir, Chisora was kept waiting a further quarter of an hour last night when the Klitschko camp objected to his handlers wrapping his hands before they had arrived at his dressing room. A shouting match ensued and the fighters finally reached the ring at 11.20pm local time.
Chisora's trainer, Don Charles, then had to watch his man like a nightclub bouncer. Chisora applauded the champion when Michael Buffer went into his introduction but when the fighters came together in the centre of the ring, Chisora spat a mouthful of water in the face of Wladimir, who was with his brother's entourage. The younger Klitschko brother did not react.
When the boxing got going, Chisora made Klitschko – both taller and longer in the reach by six inches – miss with his left hook and right cross, and landed a few of his own roundhouse rights; he might even have won an interesting first round. In his eight fights since coming out of a four-year retirement in 2008, Klitschko has lost precisely four rounds, so Chisora was at least giving him a worthwhile argument. Could he sustain it? At 17st 3lb he was not only just a couple of pounds lighter than his opponent, but a mere pound heavier than his own lightest weight as a professional. So, he was in considerably better shape than when he lost to Tyson Fury over 12 rounds last July.
But the indiscipline he showed outside the ring in slapping Klitschko at the weigh-in surfaced in the ring as his boxing grew ragged and he began running into those long, chopping right hands.
As has been noted throughout his 16 years in boxing, Klitschko does nothing spectacularly and everything efficiently. He also hits as hard as any heavyweight since Mike Tyson – his 88.89 per cent knockout rate is the best in the history of his division – and the uppercut he drove into Chisora's chin in round three would have floored less willing opponents.
The challenger, his mouth swelling, had a better fourth; in the fifth he gloved up around his ears and waded into hook-throwing range and, while he is no Joe Frazier, he got through a few times. The first signs of vulnerability, such as they were, were painted in red around Klitschko's mouth.
For most of his career, Klitschko has been allowed to fight within himself. Not now. Not at 40 on creaking legs. He took the seventh but under sustained pressure, and buckled Chisora's legs with a pin-point right cross. A fight many had predicted would end early in the Ukrainian's favour was a genuine contest with five rounds left, and Chisora, able to absorb the heavy artillery, rattled the retreating ring mechanic in front of him, hooking around his drooping guard. But the eighth, Chisora's predicted finishing round, came and went.
Klitschko found some bounce in his legs as they headed for the finish line and he rocked the Londoner with several fight-finishers. But, while some have criticised his manners, nobody has ever doubted Chisora's heart.
He was reduced to wild swings now, as his tormentor unloaded with full force for the first time, seeking a stoppage win to go with 40 before. Del Boy, however, was not for folding. He would take his licks as long as he could remember what town he was in. And that went all the way to the end of a fight worthy of a world title. Indeed, if he fought more of the earlier rounds as he did the desperate 12th, which he took with smashing wide hooks. he would have got a lot closer on the scorecard. He gave Klitschko his toughest night since he lost to Lennox Lewis in 2003 and the champion's cornermen even came across to congratulate him on his performance. So did Klitschko – and the loser took it well.
British athletes have left their mark on Munich: the Olympic 400msilver medallist, Lillian Board, who died here at 22 from bowel cancer in 1970, has a pathway to the stadium named after her, and Bradford's Richard Dunne is remembered too - if only for his inept loss to Muhammad Ali in this hall in 1976.
The likelihood of the good burghers naming a footpath after Dereck Chisora are slim, but Munich will not soon forget his visit.
 
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