By Terence Dooley
London—Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora (18st 1lb), 31, returned to the ring at Wembley Arena on a Frank Warren-promoted bill following November’s 11th-round retirement loss to domestic rival Tyson Fury. The former world title challenger met Georgia’s Beqa Lobjanidze (16st 6lbs) in a scheduled 10-threes.
The comebacking Londoner revealed that a rematch with Robert Helinius is on the cards, and he wasted no time tonight, dispatching the visitor with an overhand right at 0:29 of the opening stanza to set up a possible revenge mission against the man who handed him a contentious decision defeat in December 2011.
Referee Bob Williams dispatched with the count early, as it was clear that the 34-year-old (now 13-4, 11 KOs) was in no position to continue.
“For the first time in my career I was very nervous in the changing room, but I thought: ‘You know what, just do out there and do what you can do’,” said Chisora (21-5, 14 early).
“I would like to challenge for the European title in Germany against the guy who knocked out David Price [Erkan Teper]. I want to do that in September—one fight at a time. Everyone keeps talking about this Russian kid [Alexander] Ustinov. If the money’s right, I’ll do it Russia, where the fans love me, and embarrass him in front of his fans.”
In a classy move, Chisora paid tribute to Ernie Draper, a legendary whip who has worked too many shows to count and deals with things behind the scenes to ensure things run as smoothly as possible.
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