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Boxers are like stain removal products: they promise the earth but more often than not fail to deliver. Which is why you have got to give it up for Dereck Chisora, the unheralded British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion who will challenge for Wladimir Klitschko's IBF and WBO belts in December.
Leaving aside the fact the man from Finchley, North London should not be anywhere near a world title shot - he is ranked in the top 15 by only one of the four main governing bodies, 10th by the WBO, and has had only 14 professional fights - he has demonstrated tremendous bravery in signing up for the match, as Klitschko conceded.
"I have to give respect to Dereck Chisora, he took the challenge and showed courage," said the 34-year-old Ukrainian, who has 55 wins from 58 fights and has not been beaten for six years.
"I know another man who is fighting next month in the 'London championship' with his London buddy. He was talking a lot but never coming into the ring."
It was inevitable Klitschko would take a pot shot at David Haye, who defends his WBA belt against Audley Harrison in Manchester on 13 November. Haye has been engaged in a verbal war with Klitschko and his big brother Vitali, the WBC title-holder, for months now - and that will not stop until Haye agrees to fight either one of them.
But the details of the contract Chisora was compelled to sign rather bore out Haye's claim to BBC Sport that "the contracts the Klitschkos make guys sign are ridiculous".
Chisora, 26, revealed he has been tied into a three-fight deal that commits him to fighting Vitali next if he wins in December and Wladimir again if he beats Vitali, all the potential matches taking place in Germany. "There's a lot more behind the scenes the fans aren't aware of," added Haye. They should be more clued-up now.
It is said there is a fine line between bravery and ******ity - and there will be those wincing at the thought of what might happen to Chisora in Mannheim. 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.
Klitschko, meanwhile, has been involved in 18 world title fights and has 49 knockouts to his name. As Haye again pointed out, with a hint of foreboding: "Hopefully Dereck will get a good pay-day because it's going to be a hard, hard night".
The Klitschkos are so far and away superior to just about everyone else in the division that almost every fight they have is regarded as a mis-match, as Vitali's demolition of Shannon Briggs last weekend illustrated. But there are mis-matches and there are mis-matches - and Chisora v Klitschko has a definite whiff of danger about it.
It is a bout that does not reflect well on the division and boxing as a whole. There will also be British fight fans torn between not wanting Chisora to lose and not wanting to see a fighter as limited as he is somehow cause an upset.
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.
Link - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bendirs/2...n_removal.html - So you can read comments if you're interested.
Leaving aside the fact the man from Finchley, North London should not be anywhere near a world title shot - he is ranked in the top 15 by only one of the four main governing bodies, 10th by the WBO, and has had only 14 professional fights - he has demonstrated tremendous bravery in signing up for the match, as Klitschko conceded.
"I have to give respect to Dereck Chisora, he took the challenge and showed courage," said the 34-year-old Ukrainian, who has 55 wins from 58 fights and has not been beaten for six years.
"I know another man who is fighting next month in the 'London championship' with his London buddy. He was talking a lot but never coming into the ring."
It was inevitable Klitschko would take a pot shot at David Haye, who defends his WBA belt against Audley Harrison in Manchester on 13 November. Haye has been engaged in a verbal war with Klitschko and his big brother Vitali, the WBC title-holder, for months now - and that will not stop until Haye agrees to fight either one of them.
But the details of the contract Chisora was compelled to sign rather bore out Haye's claim to BBC Sport that "the contracts the Klitschkos make guys sign are ridiculous".
Chisora, 26, revealed he has been tied into a three-fight deal that commits him to fighting Vitali next if he wins in December and Wladimir again if he beats Vitali, all the potential matches taking place in Germany. "There's a lot more behind the scenes the fans aren't aware of," added Haye. They should be more clued-up now.
It is said there is a fine line between bravery and ******ity - and there will be those wincing at the thought of what might happen to Chisora in Mannheim. 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.
Klitschko, meanwhile, has been involved in 18 world title fights and has 49 knockouts to his name. As Haye again pointed out, with a hint of foreboding: "Hopefully Dereck will get a good pay-day because it's going to be a hard, hard night".
The Klitschkos are so far and away superior to just about everyone else in the division that almost every fight they have is regarded as a mis-match, as Vitali's demolition of Shannon Briggs last weekend illustrated. But there are mis-matches and there are mis-matches - and Chisora v Klitschko has a definite whiff of danger about it.
It is a bout that does not reflect well on the division and boxing as a whole. There will also be British fight fans torn between not wanting Chisora to lose and not wanting to see a fighter as limited as he is somehow cause an upset.
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.
Link - http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bendirs/2...n_removal.html - So you can read comments if you're interested.