Derek Chisora has defended WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in response to rumors that he was dropped in sparring while preparing for his undisputed match against IBF/WBA/WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.
Some fans would argue that Chisora is only defending Fury due to him not wanting to bite the hand that feeds. Fury gave Chisora three big paydays and made much money from those fights.
In a controversial move, Fury gave the 40-year-old Chisora a title shot in 2022 despite Dereck having lost three out of his last four fights. With a 1-3 record, Chisora fought Fury for his WBC title. That move hurt Fury’s popularity.
Sparring is Practice, Not the Real Deal
“That’s why it’s called practicing, sparring,” said Dereck Chisora to Boxing Social, when asked about the rumors of Tyson Fury being dropped during sparring while preparing for his fight against Oleksandr Usyk.
“You spar on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; you’re tired. You’re trying to get your mind ready and body ready for the real fight. Somebody should ask Johnny Nelson how many times he’s been knocked down in sparring.
The rumors are that Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs), who looked all of 35 and then some in his last fight against novice Francis Ngannou, has been getting the tar beaten out of him by his small sparring partners.
Fury’s recent cut that he suffered during sparring has made things worse, as fans believe that he intentionally did it himself because he knew that he wasn’t ready to take the 2012 Olympic gold medalist Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs) on the February 17th date.
Chisora Calls Out Nelson’s Criticism
“They’re just hating right now, and they don’t have to hate. When Johnny Nelson says, ‘He’s been knocked down in sparring,’ he doesn’t need to be saying things like that,” said Chisora about him wanting Nelson to reveal that Fury is getting dropped.
Chisora says that Nelson should say good things about Fury and paint a positive picture. That is to say, he wants Nelson to not tell it like it is and not have an opinion.
“What he needs to be saying is, ‘We can’t wait to see the fight.’ Instead of embarrassing a man that is doing something that Johnny Nelson could not do so many times. I hear Johnny and Carl Froch. Maybe they just want to get numbers on the paper,” said Chisora, defending Fury.
