Lennox Lewis Backs British Board To Stop Haye-Chisora

By Edward Chaykovsky

Heavyweight great Lennox Lewis is not in favor of the July 14th showdown between Dereck Chisora and David Haye. The West Ham battle, taking place at Upton Park, is under fire from the British Boxing Board of Control. The governing organization is trying to force promoter to cancel the fight. Neither Haye or Chisora hold a license with the board, which forced Warren to obtain an outside governing body to sanction the event.

Lewis like the actual fight, but doesn't believe it should happen until Chisora takes a few anger management courses. Lewis wasn't happy with Chisora's behavior back in February, where he slapped Vitali Klitschko at a weigh-in, spit water in Wladimir Klitschko's face and brawled with Haye at a post-fight press conference. Chisora's actions led the British Board to strip him of his license.

“We are going through a disciplinary process right now and the British Boxing Board of Control is handling that. Should they be allowed to fight? Sure - but only when the time is right, when the disciplinary process has run its course. Chisora did a couple of bad things which, in football terms, brought the game into disrepute, and although he has apologized, that is not enough. Maybe he needs anger management therapy, some outside help, to draw a line under what happened in Germany,” Lewis told The Mirror.

“I don’t think there can ever be justification for going behind the British board’s back. We all know the board is there for a reason, and they made a decision to suspend Chisora’s license in good faith, so to go around their jurisdiction is pretty poor, it’s in poor taste. And for two boxers from England to go abroad and behave in that manner was damaging for the country’s image.  Slapping your opponent at the weigh-in, spitting in another champion’s face in the ring, throwing a punch while holding a bottle and threatening to shoot a fellow boxer was all way over the top."