By Keith Idec
Based on what transpired July 28 in London, Dereck Chisora’s trainer thinks he has earned a rematch with Dillian Whyte.
Chisora came back to drop Carlos Takam twice in the eighth round of their fight on the Whyte-Joseph Parker undercard that night. Whyte was able to overcome severe trouble during the 12th round to beat Parker by unanimous decision in the main event at O2 Arena.
“He fought very well,” Don Charles, Chisora’s trainer, told Sky Sports in reference to Whyte’s win. “He dropped Parker. He brutalized Parker. Sometimes you’ve got to win ugly. He won ugly, but he won. That’s the main thing.”
Whyte wants a rematch with Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), the only opponent to beat him. Charles considers a second fight against Chisora more realistic because Joshua could pursue bigger fights, most notably a much-discussed showdown with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, if the IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO champion succeeds against Alexander Povetkin (34-1, 24 KOs) on September 22 at Wembley Stadium in London.
The Jamaican-born, London-based Whyte (24-1, 17 KOs) barely beat Chisora (29-8, 21 KOs) in a 12-round brawl that is commonly considered one of the best action fights of 2016. The 30-year-old Whyte won their memorable slugfest on two scorecards (115-113, 115-114) and lost on the other card (115-114) in December 2016 at Manchester Arena.
“That match between Dereck and Dillian, in my opinion that should happen,” Charles said. “I don’t think Dillian has many options because of the Anthony Joshua-Deontay Wilder situation.
“The natural fight right now for the British audience, for everybody, is Chisora-Whyte II, in my opinion. The winner then deserves to get a shot at either Wilder or Joshua.”
The 34-year-old Chisora, a London resident who emigrated from Zimbabwe, is 3-1 since Whyte edged him by split decision. His past two fights have been part of cards Whyte headlined.
Chisora lost another close fight to unbeaten German Agit Kabayel on November 4 in Monte Carlo. Kabayel (18-0, 13 KOs) beat Chisora by majority decision in that 12-rounder (115-113, 115-114, 114-114).
Cameroon’s Takam (35-5-1, 27 KOs) was beating Chisora before Chisora knocked him down with a sweeping overhand right to the side of Takam’s head in the eighth round. Takam made it to his feet, but Chisora promptly dropped him again with an overhand right and their scheduled 12-round bout was stopped.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
