By Scott Gilfoid: EBU heavyweight champion Dereck Chisora (19-4, 11 KO’s) and his promoter are looking for a new opponent to fill his February 15th fight date, as his previously scheduled opponent Andriy Rudenko has reportedly suffered an Achilles injury in training and won’t be able to take the fight at the Copper Box Arena in London, UK, according to Dan Rafael.
You can forget about Deontay Wilder stepping in to take the fight, because it won’t happen for a number of reasons. It’s not enough time for Chisora to prepare for the 6’7” knockout artist, it’s doubtful that Deontay would be willing to fight in the UK, and most importantly it’s not a big enough venue for Deontay.
Deontay’s being talked about being put on the undercard of Floyd Mayweather Jr’s next fight date on May 3rd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada, and that’s a fight card that will be televised worldwide.
I’m not sure what’s happening with Chisora’s opponents dropping out on him left and right, but I remember this happening in his last fight date. Is it bad luck or is there fear of Chisora from the guys that he’s being matched up against?
The negative about Chisora’s opponent pulling out right now is that it’s going to be tough to find someone with a comparable record with only 1 month to go before the fight.
Rudenko might have been a 2nd tier fighter, but with his 24-0 record, it might have been good enough to push Chisora up the rankings after he beat him. But if they’re stuck with a journeyman for his next fight, then Chisora might stay where he’s at in the rankings even if he scores a knockout.
Yeah, Chisora will still get a payday out of the fight, but I’m sure he’d much rather see himself get pushed up the rankings so that he can get in better position to try and become a mandatory challenger.
Let’s be honest here; Chisora is probably going to need to become a mandatory challenger before he’ll get another heavyweight title shot. I mean, which champion would want to have to potentially go through the same headache that former WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko did when he fought Chisora in 2012.
Vitali was slapped in the face by him, Vitali’s brother Wladimir Klitschko had water spit in his face by Chisora, and then to top it off, Chisora got in a brawl with David Haye after the fight. Who wants to go through that?
Rafael said on his twitter “Dereck Chisora looking for a new opponent for 2/15 fight. Andriy Rudenko out with Achilles injury. “
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