Tweet
Britain's Dereck Chisora will not step aside for David Haye after Wladimir Klitschko pulled out of Saturday's world heavyweight title bout.
IBF and WBO champion Klitschko withdrew from the bout with Chisora in Mannheim, Germany, because of a back injury.
That could open the door for WBA champion Haye to renegotiate a deal with the 34-year-old Klitschko.
But Chisora told BBC Radio 5 live: "He offered the fight and he has to fight me. We want that fight."
Haye has promised to take on both Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali, the WBC champion, before planning to retire next October.
We've got a clause in our contract saying the fight is going to happen anyway but we'll just have to wait and see now
The Englishman was set to fight Wladimir last year but pulled out with a back injury and negotiations have repeatedly stalled since then.
However, following his three-round destruction of Audley Harrison last month, Haye promised to reopen talks with the Ukrainians, while Vitali immediately announced he was keen for a match-up.
Despite this, when asked how confident he was that he would still get his world title chance, Chisora said: "I'm very confident.
"I'm in the papers now, I'm in the limelight and everybody wants to see what I've got in the ring. People are going to be tuning in to watch me now. Him and David Haye, that's going to have to wait for a bit because he has to go past me now."
The 26-year-old Londoner added: "We're not in it for the money. We were fighting for no-good money, we were fighting for pride and to prove we're the best in the game, so we're not stepping aside.
"Either way he's going to have to fight me or his brother or David Haye now because I'm knocking on the big doors, now I want the big fights."
Chisora was sceptical about the injury that saw Klitschko withdraw from Saturday's fight, saying: "I just think he didn't want it."
He added: "I feel sorry for my team because some of them sacrificed a lot, some of them left work for a month-and-a-half to come and work for me unpaid, and then they get this blow.
"It's Christmas as well. I'm looking to be big in this sport and then the guy pulled out. We've got a clause in our contract saying the fight is going to happen anyway but we'll just have to wait and see now."
Unbeaten Chisora's last fight was a ninth-round stoppage of Norwich's Sam Sexton on 18 September, while Klitschko knocked out Nigeria's Sam Peter in the 10th round a week earlier.
IBF and WBO champion Klitschko withdrew from the bout with Chisora in Mannheim, Germany, because of a back injury.
That could open the door for WBA champion Haye to renegotiate a deal with the 34-year-old Klitschko.
But Chisora told BBC Radio 5 live: "He offered the fight and he has to fight me. We want that fight."
Haye has promised to take on both Wladimir Klitschko and his brother Vitali, the WBC champion, before planning to retire next October.
We've got a clause in our contract saying the fight is going to happen anyway but we'll just have to wait and see now
The Englishman was set to fight Wladimir last year but pulled out with a back injury and negotiations have repeatedly stalled since then.
However, following his three-round destruction of Audley Harrison last month, Haye promised to reopen talks with the Ukrainians, while Vitali immediately announced he was keen for a match-up.
Despite this, when asked how confident he was that he would still get his world title chance, Chisora said: "I'm very confident.
"I'm in the papers now, I'm in the limelight and everybody wants to see what I've got in the ring. People are going to be tuning in to watch me now. Him and David Haye, that's going to have to wait for a bit because he has to go past me now."
The 26-year-old Londoner added: "We're not in it for the money. We were fighting for no-good money, we were fighting for pride and to prove we're the best in the game, so we're not stepping aside.
"Either way he's going to have to fight me or his brother or David Haye now because I'm knocking on the big doors, now I want the big fights."
Chisora was sceptical about the injury that saw Klitschko withdraw from Saturday's fight, saying: "I just think he didn't want it."
He added: "I feel sorry for my team because some of them sacrificed a lot, some of them left work for a month-and-a-half to come and work for me unpaid, and then they get this blow.
"It's Christmas as well. I'm looking to be big in this sport and then the guy pulled out. We've got a clause in our contract saying the fight is going to happen anyway but we'll just have to wait and see now."
Unbeaten Chisora's last fight was a ninth-round stoppage of Norwich's Sam Sexton on 18 September, while Klitschko knocked out Nigeria's Sam Peter in the 10th round a week earlier.
Comment