by Geoffrey Ciani (Interviewed by Jenna J & Geoffrey Ciani) – This week’s 109th edition of On the Ropes Boxing Radio featured an exclusive interview with heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora (14-0, 9 KOs), who is scheduled to challenge IBF/WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko (55-3, 49 KOs) on April 30 in Germany. Chisora spoke about his upcoming fight and talked about his career. He also touched on a variety of other topics including Manny Pacquiao, David Haye, Joe Calzaghe, and more! Here is some of what he had to say:
On how he feels about the opportunity to face Wladimir Klitschko for the heavyweight title:
“Yeah, you know I’m excited about the fight. I look at it as a rematch because Wladimir pulled out in the last minute. This is back on like in April. That’s a very big day for Great Britain because that’s when the royal wedding is on and I’m fighting for the world title.”
On what he feels he needs to do to dethrone Wladimir Klitschko:
“You know Wladimir’s beatable. In the past there has never been any very good heavyweights in the past six years or great fighters. Wladimir is very beatable. he’s there for the taking and I’m that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take it to him and I’m excited to fight the guy. He’s got really good hand speed, but I’m faster than him and I move a lot and I’m 27 and I’m young, and he’s 35.”
On whether he feels this opportunity is coming too soon in his career:
“Nah, it’s never too soon. I tell all the journalists it’s never too soon for anything, to be honest with you. The opportunity came to me. We didn’t ask for this fight. He asked for this. He phoned us. He phoned Frank Warren and he asked for this fight. If he didn’t want to fight me there was no opportunity for me. It was almost fate for me to box this guy. Klitschko could have easily boxed David Haye or whichever heavyweight in the top ten, but he still chose to fight me. I see that as a big opportunity for me and I believe in fate as well, so it’s my time now to take his titles away from him.”
On whether he was surprised he was given this opportunity following the cancelation of their first scheduled bout:
“I wasn’t surprised because Wladimir, it wasn’t really up to Wladimir. It’s up to the television in Germany, RTL. They call the shots and they tell Wladimir when Wladimir should fight. I went down there for the first press conference with him and they liked me. They realized this kid is coming to fight. I’m not just coming to get paid. It’s not only about the money. I’m looking forward to fighting this guy. He’s never boxed any fighter like me for his entire career. All the guys he’s faced, they’re all scared of him. I ain’t scared of him. That will make it more interesting, because he’s been at the top for the last six years and it gives me more drive to take him off his throne. I’m excited about the fight.”
His view on David Haye’s claim that Chisora’s fight with Wladimir is a “waste of time” in the heavyweight division:
“David Haye is a little girl! I know David Haye. I love in London. He lives in London. I see him every time I go out. He’s just crying over spilt milk. David Haye had an opportunity last year to fight with Wladimir and then he pulled out for some reason. He said he got a back injury but he’s totally lying. His TV deal went down and he couldn’t get anywhere so he had to pull out. He said we’ll fight this fight and in four months time me and you, but disgruntled because he don’t want me to take the shine off him. Hey! I’m better than both of them put together.”
On whether he is concerned about his stamina if he finds himself in uncharted territory beyond round nine:
“No, as I already said don’t let looks deceive you, because my body doesn’t tell you I’m fit. We train for the later rounds. By the time I’m tired he’ll be tired as well, because we’re going to put his body into pain. We’re going to destroy everything and slow his movement. So by the time he thinks I’m tired, he’s tired as well, especially over those last three rounds.”
His response to those who say Wladimir Klitschko only chose him because he wants exposure with the British audience to make a potential fight with David Haye even bigger down the road:
“Whatever view people he’s got, because with that fight—that fight between him and David Haye is not going to happen. I tell everybody on my Twitter page that fight is not going to happen because when this guy gets in the ring with me he’s not going to be prepared to where I’m going, because where I want to go he’s never been there. George Foreman before said on an HBO interview, ‘If you go to the champion’s backyard to fight him, you don’t go to box—you go physically to take what is his’ and that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to take what’s his physically and mentally. He has to be prepared to where I want to go, and I don’t think he’s ready yet to go where I want to go. Again, that fight with David Haye won’t happen and even that fight with Adamek won’t happen.”
Regarding which fighters he enjoyed watching when he was first getting into the sport:
“I really liked, the first fight I ever watched boxing like live was Ricky Hatton and Kostya Tszyu in Manchester. I just wanted to see a card. I saw Ricky Hatton and Kostya Tszyu figt and then I just got into boxing. I was like wow! I was into boxing myself, but I wasn’t taking it so, so serious. I just got into boxing as well. Then after that I had a swell mentor. I was mentally focused for boxing. I got the fever for boxing. Then I watched Mayweather. Mayweather my last guy I was watching. His fitness and everything in the ring was great. Then I liked Joe Calzaghe and I was watching Jermain Taylor. I wasn’t watching any heavyweights because there were no great heavyweights for me to watch.”
His views on Joe Calzaghe’s legacy and whether he could have done more in his career:
“He’s secured a great legacy in Great Britain. I’m not going to lie to you. This is his hometown. Joe Calzaghe would sell out Millenium Stadium. You know, that’s 35,000 people who are watching Joe Calzaghe and almost about 1.5 million tune0in to watch him. So that’s a big legacy for him. He sold out Newbridge about twice, selling out a stadium where they play rugby which is a big legacy in Great Britain for selling out like that. All you have to do is put Joe Calzaghe on a poster and it would sell out. I think he left a good legacy in Great Britain alone, but I have never been to the States so I wouldn’t know how they would take Joe Calzaghe in the States, to be honest with you.”
His views on Manny Pacquiao as a fighter and his upcoming fight with Sugar Shane Mosley:
“To be honest with you, him and Sugar Shane Mosley, he’s a good fighter but it’s an embarrassment for Sugar Shane Mosley to try and get in there. I don’t know why he’s trying to get in there. Sugar Shane Mosley was great back like ten years ago, not now. He should leave the game to the younger boys and just hang up his gloves and just be a promoter. Manny Pacquiao is a people’s champion. There are few people like that. The last person who was a people’s champ was Muhammad Ali. Manny Pacquiaao is a people’s champ. He’s a very calm guy. He doesn’t show off. He loves his training. He loves what he does for his country, and there are few people like that. People’s champs like that, they’re born once every ten years, basically. I don’t think Shane Mosley should take that fight.”
His views on current state of the heavyweight division:
“I’ll tell you what, the heavyweight division is worse. It’s worse because people don’t talk about it. People don’t talk about it! When you see people get together and they don’t talk about boxing, that’s worse. If it wasn’t for Manny pacquiao boxing, there would be no boxing. People wouldn’t be talking about boxing. Right now the only attraction in the boxing game is Manny Pacquiao. He’s the one who has the people talking. The whole world knows Manny Pacquiao right now, which is great for boxing, but in the heavyweight game I don’t even know any of the top ten. I only know the brothers, and myself, and David Haye, but the rest of them I don’t really know them because they don’t want to fight. It’s different from a long time ago in the Lennox Lewis era. These guys don’t want to fight!”
His views on David Haye’s victory against Audley Harrison:
“David Haye, to be honest I don’t know why Americans are all excited about David Haye. He hasn’t excited anybody yet, and even the British public. I would fight David Haye. Yeah. If it was up to me, I would fight David Haye. That would be a sellout. It would sell out easily. David Haye won’t fight me. He said he’s retiring in a couple of months. Well, good luck to him.”
On what he views as his biggest advantage against Wladimir Klitschko:
“I hit much harder than him.”
His views on what Wladimir Klitschko will try to do:
“He’s going to try and outbox me like the rest of the Eastern Europeans, and just try to pop the jab out.”
On how he expects the fight to play out:
“As I said already to the rest of the reporters, in rounds seven and eight, those will be the most exciting rounds ever.”
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For those interested in listening to the Dererck Chisora interview in its entirety, it begins approximately one hour and twenty-three minutes into the program.
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