Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

Chisora is a brave man, this could be brutal. If Haye beats Harrison (which i think and hope he will for the good of the sport) there cant be anymore ducking and diving. Too many boxers seem to be avoiding each other these days. Will we ever see Mayweather vs Pacquiao? Fans want to see the best fighters competing against each other, not hiding away waiting for the best pay day to arrive.

I wish Chisora all the luck in the world, but Klitscho will have too much for him.

I think this opportunity has come too early for Chisora, but saying that 26 isn't exactly young in boxing. Plenty of fighters have had title shots earlier than this, maybe this is just proof that on paper Chisora isn't world title material.

However he has the chance regardless. To say that a limited fighter is undeserving of a title shot is a bit ridiculous. Many many fighters in previous years have gotten by on being extremely one-dimensional. To provide an exaggerated point, Nikolai Valuev. He could barely fight, let alone fight one dimensionally. To provide another, which will no doubt go down horribly badly, Ricky Hatton. I am a huge Hatton fan (I grew up not too far from him either and I saw his fight against Kosta Tyzsu and have never witnessed an atmosphere like it before or since) but he could only fight one way and he was a 2 weight world champion.

Chisora may be one-dimensional but that hasn't been a limitation on other fighters, maybe it's just that the skills he has got are just not good enough. But it's a heavy weight contest, one big haymaker and the bookies could be paying out. I hope he does it, just to remind people that in the grand scheme of things the Klitchko's aren't the invincible powers people think they are, they've just taken advantage of a very poor division. God only knows I wish we had Lennox, Tyson and Holyfield in their primes again!

I think Chisora is the one on the left (wearing the shorts with 'Del Boy')

Although Del Boy has a possibly unsummountable task at hand, I have to say that Mr Dirs must be the only individual to think Sexton had had the better of their recent exchange prior to the TKO. Apart from a dip in the middle rounds, Del Boys work rate, scoring shots and superior footwork had Sexton in trouble from the first round.

Credit to Sexton for staying on his feet, but he had only threw punches in anger. Del Boy wore him down, which is the worrying thing, will he have a punch to take out Klitschko?

I think we should get behind Chisora as he will need all of the support he can get and who knows....that's why we love this sport!

Another massive mis-match which should be stopped by the British Boxing Board of Control. Chisora is at least 4-5 fights away from challenging either of the Klitschko's and hopefully we will have a referee who will have the sense to put a stop to the action when he sees that Chisora is out-classed. Briggs was allowed to take far too much punishment by an over-zealous (English) referee last weekend and he may never recover from those right hands to his head which must have damaged his brain. This could be a big payday for him but a beating could end his career. I fear for him.

I think I read an interview saying that Chisora wasn't being paid particularly well but didn't want to let the chance pass him by….....

There is obviously something going on behind the scenes and I belie
ve the biggest sticking point for Haye signing this fight is the venue. Notice Chisora has a potential (ha!) 3 fight deal lined up ALL IN GERMANY!!

I don't think the brothers like to leave there homeland to fight, and Haye is probably not too keen to go over there in case it goes to points!

Like most people I don't feel Del Boy has the experience, or if I'm honest, the skill to match either of the brothers, however I wish him luck.

As for Haye v Harrison, punchers chance to either of them, but the smart money has to be on Haye!

Something has got to be done about the growing farce that is boxing. What a wonderful sport slowly being destroyed by promoters and money-spinners. The current accepted situation is that if you get to the top of the world you can dictate the location, and the split of the purse. Absolute nonsense! Barcelona can't elect to have the Champions League final in the Nou Camp. The can't decide that they are to be given 80% of revenue for the match.

There should be a centralised and transparent body which ensures that the Mayweather-Pacquiao's and the Haye-Klitchko's (either) actually happen. This "calling out" of other boxers and then clouding the financial details in mystery is an embarrassment. They should all shut up, put their gloves on and get in the ring. Boxing, if it continues along its current path, will eventually alienate its fans.

FRAUDLEY VS CHISORA FOR UNDISPUTED HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION OF THE WORLD!!

Oh dear this division is getting ridiculous!

On another note those clauses are ridiculous, I can understand Haye's reluctance to sign up now!

All Chisora can do is just hurl himself bodily at Wlad, throw punches like a madman, try to throw him off his game and hope he lands something heavy. The Neon Leon approach!

Even if it fails, at least it would mean a quick knockout loss rather than the protracted jab-jab-right-jab-jab erosion that can be worse long-term.

I just really hope it's not yet another addition to the very long list of "shuffle forwards/backwards a straight line and hope for Klitschko to slip into a spontaneous coma" challengers.

To say that Chisora is limited is a bit harsh if you're talking about his skills. I think he's one of the most skilled Heavyweights around at the moment.

He is limited in experience however but that doesn't mean that he doesn't have a chance. If he fights his normal fight of pressure with a few heavy punches and some decent footwork he could trouble Klitchko, there has been other fighters who have had shots at world titles at an early stage and came through winning after being massive underdog. Wasn't Tyson inexperienced and an underdog when he won his first world title? I know Chisora isn't as good as Tyson but hey the heavyweight division is nowhere near as good as it was back then.

I don't Chisora will win but I do think he's got more of a chance than most of the other challangers have had recently and he has more of a chance than most people think he has. 6/1 isn't massive odds for someone who apparently has no chance.

"There is the possibility that, after 13 December, two of the three heavyweight champions of the world will be Chisora and Harrison - less a case of not knowing whether to laugh or cry than wondering whether it would be more humane to put the whole damn division out of its misery."

So true. Heavyweight boxing just isn't what it used to be and it's a sad state of affairs right now. A Klitschko-Haye fight is what the world wants but even then, that fight would still pale in comparison to the glory days of Lewis, Tyson, Bruno, Holyfield, Foreman etc.

The other problem is the fact that you have four main governing bodies for professional boxing - that is ridiculous and farcical. Even if Haye makes good on his promise to unify the division by beating both Klitschkos, there are really no other big names to challenge him. That's provided he can walk the talk of course.

The heavyweight division reminds me of the last Rocky movie when the champion can't prove himself because there's a shortage of quality challengers and he ends up having to coax an old timer out of retirement to fight. Maybe that's the solution?

The days where Gladiatorial mis-matches throw up unexpected KO's in the Heavyweight division are sadly not going to happen while the Klitschko clan have their key in the vault.
'Del Boy' is in for a tough night and we all know the outcome deep down, lose in rounds 3-5? But what is interesting is the outcome of the negotiations - Only in Germany, both brothers n case of rematch and only in Germany.
No wonder Haye pulled out? He obviously wants to beat one of them over there take a mega Heavyweight fight to Vegas and finish with a re-match at the O2 or MEN? Fighting in front of 50,000 librarians in Hannheim is not as exciting as your name in lights on the strip!
Especially for such a low key and shy performer as Haye.
p.s. Has anyone seen the footage of Harrison on You Tube wielding a 'mini' axe in Canada whilst training. Comedy. Pure Comedy. He should stick to slapstick.
Chisora has more heart than Audley.

I agree with pretty much all the comments here. But if Audley DID have the heart I suspect he could take out both Klitschkos on the same night.

No fighter is going to turn down a world title shot. Frank Warren should take some responsibilty here - he should be protecting his fighter, not focusing on the pay day and if he truly believed in him, a world title fight would only be 7 fights away with the right guidance. Then Del Boy would have more than a chance against anyone ... this December he will get dominated and if Wlad's in the mood - badly hurt. Lets hope the experience doesn't effect Derek's development and confidence a la Macarinelli. Good luck Chisora, if it doesnt go your way you can always retire Audley after Haye knocks him out within six.

Firstly, the contractual obligations are ridiculous. A rematch clause yes but it's near on impossible for any challenger to come through all that as they would certainly be tough fights, whatever the outcome. Actually makes their claims about Haye sound a bit silly, Haye should propose a one-off at Wembley... Vitali first before he calls it a day.
I fear this may have come too soon for Chisora but fair play to him for having a go and barring a real disaster, he has time to recover.
The only trouble I see for Haye is if he's under-estimated Harrison and cut corners, otherwise I see a middle-round stoppage. Haye is either brave, mad or silly to take this fight though. He has it all to lose while Audley has it all to gain and has no pressure on him... Plus, he can bang a bit when he lets them go.

I am a massive boxing fan and although he maybe out of his depth, good luck to him. We have 3 English Heavy Weight boxers fighting for genuine world titles in the next two months, has that ever happened!

As for David Haye, again I am a big fan, I know he has a weakness but put it into perspective. He has lost once in 24 fights to a big hitter that perhaps should have been pulled out in the first round. In these 24 fights he has unified a division, stepped up and won a world title. If he was American they would be pushing him as a contender for the hall of fame. The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ hasn't even got him in the top 10 world ranking at the moment! I think he is massively under-valued and good luck to all the English heavy weights in the next couple of months.

Maybe give Chisora a puncher's chance? When Wladimir loses (admittedly a while ago now) he loses heavily........

This is all just marking time until a Klitschko-Haye match can be agreed. They surely cannot continue to duck the only show in town? And "duck" is the only word for it: what self-respecting world champion would sign the contract that they put in front of Chisora?

I think that K is being quite astute here. If the fight does reasonable figures in the UK then it strenthens his hand when negotiating with Haye. K will be able to prove that his is a resonable Draw in the UK without Haye (Perhaps)

WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO/IBO/IBU/WBF/WBU amonst others is why the big fights don't happen. Two many 'champions', too many rankings.

Until boxing sorts itself out and has 1 belt per division, with 1 set of rankings, regulated by 1 oranising body, then the dross will contiue to flow. That organising body can then tell the champion who to fight/where to fight.

Why so many orgainsing bodies? Money.

Like many other sports, money is killing boxing. Actually, make that money and agents......

Come on Ben, you're being a bit pessimistic. Ok I don't know much about Chisora, but he's young, British, unbeaten, and I did see him slap Danny williams silly. It could be a big fairytale...don't tell me you don't love fairytales Ben!?!? I had you pinned as a Rumplestiltskin man.

Will you really not be at all excited when Derek strolls down to the ring, all moist and muscular, in the Lion's den? It's not like he's some journeyman. He's young and hungry.

So who would win in Chisora v Audley? Might be close? At least Chisora hasn't lost to Martin Rogan, Joe Bugner and Linford Christie in the last 2 years. I'm part of the D-Chiz bandwagon now. Come on Del-boy, this time next year we could be miwyonaires!!

"The biggest name on his resume is an over-the-hill Danny Williams, while I was one of those who thought he was behind on the cards before he knocked out Norwich's Sam Sexton in the ninth round in September"

Spot on and sums up all we need to know

Some observations:

A) If Chisora wasn't British we would be calling this fight for what it is - an utter disgrace.

B) As pointed out Adam-O , the clauses in the Chisora contract are unacceptable to most reasonably minded boxing folk. I've said it before and I'll say it again- Klitschkos are business maestros but boxing cowards now.

How can Haye possibly sign a deal thats so one-sided it insults the intelligence?

Ah yes- thats because the Klitschko's don't want to fight! Why not carry on knocking out bums in Germany.. impossible to lose unless they are knocked out.

All in all, it further demonstrates the cynical abuse of the sport by Klitschko Inc.

Yet, sections of the Media bought the soundbite Wlad served up ' Harrison can knock Haye out'. Hook. Line. Sinker.

I laughed at the irony- the Klitschko's purposefully make sure they fight no-one who has the smallest chance of knocking them out.

The only way to contact Derek Chisora after this fight will be through Derek Acorah lol...

The whole Haye vs Audley & Wlad Vs Chisora seems very orchestrated to me, I have a funny feeling this was the plans of both fighters all alone. And none of the contract wrangles or agreements really happened bar the first one, Where Haye pulled out due to injury.

It all seems like a massive publicity stunt to promote there eventual fight next year!

Dr Guy Bailey?

First of all, I really don't know what all the bitching over contractual conditions and the choice of a fight venue is all about.There is only one reason why these factors are being brought into the discussion and that,for a fighter (or his representatives)to seek excuses not to fight.
As a professional boxer(and I speak as one !)of course you fight to make a living..boxing is The Job.However, you also fight for self respect and for the good of the fighter's soul within you.Any chance we get inside the ropes to show our heart to the opponent and the spectators should be embraced and fully devoid of petty distractions such as few quid more or a few miles to travel.Haye's babbling makes me sick to the core. If he ever finds the solidity of some British balls to travel to Germany to fight either of the Klitschko's, then he will not only receive a lesson in heavy-weight boxing (a devision he has got no business in)but, also lesson in humility and that art of coherent conversation.As for Chisora, he has already shown that by civility alone, he has surpassed the likes of Haye or Harrison. His brief conversation with Wladimir after the Briggs fight, has shown him to be respectful and fully appreciative of the chance to fight for the titel. So what if he needs to sign a 3 fight deal ? Three more chances for a boxing 'crafts man' to go to work and show why he selected this career path.I agree with another comment on here, that we should support the guy and if only for one thing ; he did not chicken out when someone called his name for a fight !

What is silly is that the Klitchkos can't fight anyone without making them fight the other. This is not tag team. No wonder none of the better challengers will fight them, if they lose they have two chances to get the belts back from who could potentially be the unified champion. It could be the case that David Haye holds all the belts and has no control over who he fights. No wonder he is yet to sign. The Klitchkos are holding the division to ransom and only the deseperate last big payday fighters such as Briggs or ambitious up and coming fighters like Chisora are desperate enough to take them on. Surely it needs to get back to the Organisation for each respective champion deciding who are the top challengers, not for the champions to pick and choose. Boxing is an individual sport and the Klitchkos should be denounced as the two men who have destroyed one of the highest achievements in all sport and turned it into a petty game where they just keep taking their ball home.

Your blog is pretty spot on. Living in Hamburg, I can assure all the readers that the German public see this as nothing more than an attempt to pressure Haye. Wladimar wont take Chisora lightly, but really, no one sees this as anything but Haye bait. Wladimar is too big, too strong, too fit and too experienced. The ONLY HW out there with the speed and the punch to take either Klitschko is Haye. And that is the reason they are rolling over the tomato cans and coining it in. They are not scared of Haye. But they know he is the only real threat other than that posed by all HW boxers : the lucky punch. Does Chisora have a lucky punch in him? Well, he's got to get inside Klitschko to land it. And after a few pile driving jabs into his face I doubt he'll have the desire to try too often... Wlad to knock him out inside 4 rounds. Remember how pitiful Danny Williams looked against Vitali? And Chisora has nothing that the younger Williams had in terms of ability, mobility and power.

"Chisora may be one-dimensional but that hasn't been a limitation on other fighters, maybe it's just that the skills he has got are just not good enough. But it's a heavy weight contest, one big haymaker and the bookies could be paying out"

Mate its not that hes one dimensional, its that he has no experience at this level. This is a huge jump in class. He doesnt even have big power. Add to that he has a height and reach advantage and this only ends badly for him. He is outgunned in every single way. The fight in reality is a joke. He could eb a world champ in a couple of years as he has the skillset but this is just a stupid stupid decision for him to make. His trainer shouldve blocked it. Getting smashed to pieces is not a great way to build your confidence, skillset and career

Oko at some point you are going to end up mentally handicapped for the rest of your life with that outlook. Why would you want to fight 3 fights against the same opponents in THEIR backyard. Its a setup plain and simple. Haye wants to fight for another couple of years. Why tie himself up with the Klits for that length of time? Fight Wlad, fight Vitali and then move on

Chisora is pretty inexperienced but he's got a good deal of ability. Not true to say he's very limited in terms of ability. Nobody knows what the future holds he may not have got a another shot. Plenty of fighters out that have deserved shots a champions and never got them.
If the Klitschko's are so basic and robotic as alot of people here seem to believe then the fight should at least represent an acceptable risk.
Fed up of fighters gobbing and doing nothing to back it up. it may be abit over the top the K brothers rematch clauses, but if a fighter seriously want's to prove to be the best in the division then they are going to have to fight them anyway?

"The current accepted situation is that if you get to the top of the world you can dictate the location, and the split of the purse."

Um, that's almost always been the case. It's hardly a new phenomena. Fighters throughout the history of prizefighting have often had to take the short end of the purse and give away home advantage to get a shot. The only exceptions tend to be if there's more money to be made elsewhere.
Boxing has always been about money, that's why it was known as prizefighting. Boxers are in effect self employed tradesmen who risk their life every time they go to work. Hence, they try and secure every advantage and maximum income in each fight.

Derrick is taking a calculated risk, he's hoping that if he wins he can make big money from the title. He may also think that if he loses but impresses then he can also make big money in his next few fights.
He may also be reckoning that if he does win the Klitchkos contract won't stand up in a court of law, it's pretty restrictive and may be impossible to enforce.
But none of this kind of stuff is new, plenty of champs used to put immediate rematch clauses into contracts, and plenty used to demand a cut of future earnings from challengers. Liston did that with Ali, Braddock did it with Louis.

well he's got nuthing to lose ,he loses credit for trying and still young enough to come back,i hope he wins k bros are robotic boxers and delboy just needs to move about more than the old drudgers they fought last time

I think we need to put Vladimir's ability into perespective. Are Ruslan Chagaev and Eddie Chambers really a league above Derek Chisora? I'm not so sure.

The heavy weight scene is pretty diabolical and has been for some time. If Chisora was facing a Mayweather type fighter in his division I would fear for his health, but Vladimir is good but not great, and compared to previous Vlad opponents I think Derek Chisora has as good as chance as any of them. I certainly don't think it will be a first round knock out for Vlad, I predict a late knock out win for Vlad, certainly no mismatch health threatening knock out as some people might think.


Also in regards to the contracts Klitschko ask, so what?! They are the champions of the division, no one else comes close. If u seriously want to be the best, you would sign a 3 fight deal with them and prove it to them, so that Vlad would not even want to fight the rematch. Who is Haye planning on fighting after the Klitschkos? They are the only obstacle in his way to prove he is the best, so of course they will make an extended contract.

If you saw some of Lennox Lewis's contracts he made people sign. you would understand where the Klitschko's are coming from.

If Haye believed he would beat both brothers he would sign a 3 fight deal. Haye is so stupid that he cannot see that the Klitschko's are the only opponents that will give him any kind of historical recognition, and by the time his ego subsides they will probably have retired, and he would've lost his only chance of making a historical impact in Boxing's most illustrious division.

The reality is K-Bros are the Larry Holmes of our generation(sorry Larry). They will be known as the unexciting brothers that dominated heavyweight boxing in the noughties. Haye is a nobody and will forever remain a nobody unless he gets one or both of their scalps before its too late.

That is the big difference between Haye and the Klitschko's that Haye needs to get through his big stupid arrogant head when he negotiates with them.

They offered Haye 50/50 worldwide revenue but they keep their own German TV contract money, so that means Haye would get 50% of Sky, HBO revenue etc. It was also a multi fight deal but who would Haye want to fight after them anyway, and if as he predicts he pummells Vlad so much would Vlad really want a rematch? If Haye is as good as he says surely he would be willing to pummell Vlad 5, 10, 20 times.

Could someone plz explain to me why it was worth Haye asking for more which would potentially jeapordise a fight with them, when Haye is a nobody in Boxing history? Please provide a valid argument.

I live in Germany and watch these two brothers. They always pick fighters they can beat. What they are doing to heavyweight boxing is a disgrace. Are there not any good Americans out there to stop sauerland and the KlitschkoΒ΄s from ruining Boxing any further.Good luck to Dereck Chisora, but, if he has to go through this three fight deal if he wins itΒ΄s business as usual. Boxing hasnΒ΄t got a good reputation. What is happening in Germany, cynicism isnΒ΄t a strong enough word for it.

Anyone who has boxed extensively themselves, or has been involved in the sport in a way that makes them very knowlegable, agrees that the Klitchkos are formidable fighters. Many boxing fans whose appreciateion of the sport does not go past the 'entertainment level' critisize the Klitchkos, but this 'anti-Klitchko' filter of reality is misguided.

These guys are two of the best heavyweights the world has seen. They deserve the respect the get in many quarter of Europe. Shame they don't get that respect in the UK. This is a fight in which I have no doubt that Klitchko will make yet another decent fighter look like a complete bum.

Hi Ben, I was advised to put this on your thread;

Just like to get a proper discussion going on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's resident Boxing blogger Ben Dirs. As you can tell by my title, I'm not a fan. I have come to expect lazy journalism from him and most national writers who seem to be given the impossible task of typing up a Boxing article every few weeks. He is after all, an employee of a company who fails to recognize the cultural and historical significance Boxing still has in our country, let alone the great numbers David Haye has achieved on SKY and the huge audience Carl Froch last nationally televised fight received on ITV.

It's no surprise to me that Ben is starting to drift into the Teddy Atlas clueless analogy territory, just get a load of this beauty from his latest masterpiece;

"Boxers are like stain removal products: they promise the earth but more often than not fail to deliver."

Superb Ben, I've heard a lot of great rhetoric and clever lines in relation to the Noble art, comparisons to chess from the K brothers, Jazz from George Foreman but never stain removal products.

If you are reading this Ben, it's not meant to be personal but I am frustrated by your writing and the general coverage the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ gives Boxing.

the only reason that Klitschko has agreed to figh Chisora is because he knows that he can and most likely will beat him. Chisora as a fighter who has never been on the world stage would have taken this fight even if he received none of the money generated from the fight simply because for a fighter of his status, a fight against the top dog usually never comes around. Would love to see Chisora come up with the biggest shock in world sport but the fact remains that he only has this fight because Klitschko is too chicken to fight the Haymaker.

I still see the love for Haye shining through in this feature. Haye's initial claims about reinvigorating boxing have hardly come to fruition and in the interest of fairness and balance this needs to be acknowledged. Haye appears to be happy to take some winnable fights prior to a potential loss to one of the Klitschko's.

Chisora has only been in one 10 round and two 12 round fights and his 13 fights have only gone to the 9th round once and 8th round twice.

Wlad can fight 12 rounds in his sleep and this fight is going to be a hard school for the still student of boxing Chisora. Wlad by mid round stoppage for me. This fight is a bigger joke than Vitali v Briggs or Harrison v Haye.

The lack of credible opponents isn't the K Brothers fault, they have no problem fighting whoever wants to have a go. Haye isn't in their league, the only real fight in the heavyweight division is Wlad v Vitali and Mama Klitschko won't give her blessing to that match-up.

As a wise former 606 poster said: 'Mama kilitschko is better at protecting her fighters than Don King ever was.'

Behind on the cards against Sexton!!

Is Ben Dirs Stevie Wonder's pen name?

Th ebiggest disgrace with HW boxing is that the Klitchkos won't fight each other. What other organisation would avoid forcing the top 2 to face off against each other? The sooner somebody (Haye) beats them the better, then we can start afresh and hopefully breathe some new life and energy back in to the division.

Whether you like Haye or not, for the good of the sport he really needs to sort these two out as I'm certain Del Boy won't.

I can't understand who knows bunce using him as a source, he comes out with some rubbish and changes his mind every time he speaks and depending on whom hes speaking to. Sexton was getting outclassed.

I have to take TOFU up on some of his comments. I'm not a Ben Dirs fan, but it's important to challenge such drivel
"He is after all, an employee of a company who fails to recognize the cultural and historical significance Boxing still has in our country"
Fox hunting has great historical and cultural significance too..Horse Racing, Shinty, oh yeah- ANY minority sport has great cultural and historical significance to it's supporters and participants! We can all have our opinions but decisions must be made as to where resources are allocated to. We live in a world of finite resources.
"the great numbers David Haye has achieved on SKY "
Rupert won't like me telling you this, but PPV has been slowly killing boxing for years. Short-term greed comes at a big price- when you make a sport out of reach of potential young fans, they will watch something else. Pawning the future of the sport for a fast buck.
The truth is TOFU, people like you have nothing to offer. There is no reason why this couldn't be a great blog. With your professed knowledge, you could add some positive contributions and encourage Mr Dirs to write more often on weighty subjects. We could have some serious conversation and encourage the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ, bit by bit to increase it's boxing coverage.
Sadly, you choose not to do this and instead engage in mud-slinging. Ironically enough, if you wrote such drivel on the SkySports.com articles of Jim Watt, it would be censored and removed.
That probably points to the real reason of your post- the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ provides you with a way to abuse a large organisation.All well and good- but don't confuse that with a love of boxing.
Better still, try being constructive- it's a whole lot harder than spouting vitriol.