We’ve seen boxers try their hand at MMA, and we’ve seen MMA fighters try their hand at boxing. But here’s a new twist on the crossover fight – two boxers taking on each other in an MMA fight! Dillian Whyte Vs. Dereck Chisora III, in a cage? Eddie Hearn spoke with Sky Sports about such an event, and the promoter says such a fight would be “huge.”
Both Whyte (who had a brief MMA career some years back) and Chisora have said repeatedly how they are very interested, serious, about engaging in some MMA action. Whyte called out Francis Ngannou, while Chisora said he would fight for Bellator. Hearn has been in touch with Dana White regarding a possible Whyte-Ngannou fight, with White telling him such a bout is “big business.” Hearn has made it clear that for both Whyte and Chisora the chance to fight for the world heavyweight title is the main priority, yet the possibility of some MMA action is not out of the question.
“Why not?” Hearn said to Sky Sports in response to the possibility of a Whyte-Chisora fight in MMA. “We should look at fights that create attention, that people want to see. Whyte Vs. Chisora in a cage? That’s huge. But let’s focus on boxing for now, and understand that we are working towards Whyte’s world heavyweight title shot. We had fun with Ngannou talking about a potential fight, and I spoke to Dana White about it. But everybody’s focuses are on getting their own businesses back on track, for MMA and for boxing. But you can’t ignore that Whyte Vs. Ngannou is a huge, huge fight. The priority for Whyte is for him to get a shot at the world heavyweight title. But I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t be interested to see Whyte Vs. Ngannou – two huge knockout artists.”
As of now, Whyte is still set to fight Alexander Povetkin next, and Chisora is set to fight Oleksandr Usyk in his next fight. But both British heavyweights are getting tired of waiting; they want to fight. Might the two wind up fighting each other again, in a cage? You know the fight would sell. Big.
Chisora likes the idea of fighting an MMA bout and THEN fighting Usyk:
“I’m hungry, excited, some MMA fighters come to boxing so I want to be the one that goes to MMA,” Chisora said. “I want to knock some dudes out for fun. Do an MMA fight, finish it quick, jog on and fight Usyk, knock him out then go home and celebrate.”
Stranger things have happened. Haven’t they?
