By Charles Brun: Derek Chisora says the ring walk situation for his fight with Joseph Parker still isn’t resolved for Saturday’s fight at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, UK.
Earlier today, Chisora’s team was seen removing his belongings from the bubble in what appeared to be a move for him to bail from the fight. Thus far, Chisora is still in the bubble, so it appears he may choose to stick it out.
We won’t know if Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) will walk out of tomorrow night’s heavyweight clash until later. Earlier today, Chisora made a big production after he lost a coin toss that he wasn’t present for to determine whether he or Parker would walk out second for the fight.
Unfortunately for Chisora, he lost the coin toss, and he wasn’t happy about it. Chisora says this is his pay-per-view, as he’s the A-side for the Sky Box Office card, and yet he’s going to be walking out first the way B-side fighters do.
Chisora’s manager David Haye is meeting with Parker’s manager David Higgins, and he hopes to get some clarity on the situation at some point tonight.
Chisora explains why he’s upset
“Don’t tell me I lost the coin toss, I was not there,” said Chisora to iFL TV. “I’m just being a d***. We shall see when David [Haye] comes to my room later on,” said Chisora when asked how the ring-walk situation will be resolved for Saturday’s fight with Joseph Parker.
“My driver is on the way from London. You’ll get clarity in the next couple of hours. Basically, David Haye is talking to [Parker’s manager] David Higgins from Australia. After that, we’re going to find out where we’re at.
“You know why I’m doing this. First of all, it’s my pay-per-view,” Chisora continued in why he created a big deal about losing the coin toss.
“They were like, ‘Usyk’s this and this,’ I was like, ‘Fine’. Now, why should I always get shafted? Why should the British guys get shafted every time, why? If fans were out, the fans would be buying a ticket to watch me, not Parker,” said Chisora.
If Chisora chooses not to go through with the fight over this small issue, it could cost him money if he’s sued. Parker paid a lot of money to get prepared for the fight, and he and his team won’t be happy if Chisora bails because he can’t handle the idea of walking out first.
It’s so utterly trivial that it’s hard for the average boxing fan to get their head wrapped around it. It’s not as if Parker was given the spot to walk out second. It was done fairly by a coin toss. Of course, this wouldn’t be like this if Chisora’s career hummed along like Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury.
Derek could hurt the PPV numbers
It’s terrible timing for Chisora to be bringing uncertainty to his fight with Parker, as some boxing fans in the UK may choose not to purchase the card on Sky Box Office because they’re not sure if the Parker-Chisora fight will happen now.
The fact that Chisora has 10 career losses and is ranked at rock bottom of the WBC’s rankings at #15 suggests that he’s not in the position to call the shots. Chisora lost his last fight to Oleksandr Usyk and can’t dictate to fighters like Parker, a top five-level contender.
Parker isn’t a great heavyweight, but he’s a top-five guy, and he may wind up getting a title shot in a year or two if he keeps winning.
Where Chisora goes from here if he chooses not to fight is the important question. It would likely hurt his career if he opts to bail on the fight over this minuscule issue.
