Dereck Chisora says he’s not going to lose to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night in their fight at the Wembley Arena in London, England.
Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs) has a high degree of respect for Usyk (17-0, 13 KO) as a fighter, but he’s going to put it on him and look to blast him out.
Usyk vs. Chisora will be shown on Sky Box Office in the UK and DAZN. The fight winner will be the WBO mandatory to IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua.
Chisora ready to go all out
“I like it. It’s good banter,” said Chisora to Sky Sports about Usyk’s social media things that he’s been doing to promote the fight. “He’s a great dancer and a great comedian, which is amazing.
“Yes, I do respect him. He’s an unbelievable fighter. He’s good. There isn’t [bad blood between them] because you can’t have bad blood with someone who can’t really speak English or understand. I like him.
“I’m a big fan. I think when we get in the ring, we’re going to let it all go. I don’t want to let myself down. I want to give it my all. When it’s all said and done, I don’t want to look back and say, ‘I could have done better.’
“When I get in the ring, I want to let it all go. So when I hang up the gloves, I don’t have any regret. That’s the motivation I have.
“I give it all in my training so that I give it all in the fight. Tyson is unbelievable. He’s the only man that doesn’t have a defeat on his record,” Chisora said.
There’s too much on the line for Chisora not to empty his tank on Saturday night. Not only can Chisora potentially grab Usyk’s WBO mandatory status, but he can increase his buy rate for future fights on Sky Box Office pay-per-view.
Like contender Dillian Whyte, Chisora has become a pay-per-view attraction in the UK, thanks to Sky Sports and Matchroom Boxing.
According to Wealthygenuius, Chisora’s estimated net worth is $5 million, which is pretty good for a fighter that has never won a world title. To keep that popularity going, Chisora needs to look good against Usyk and be prepared to go out on his shield if need be.
Dereck doesn’t care about rankings
“For me, it’s not about being put back in the top ten,” said Chisora.
“It’s giving the best fights for the fans. What phases me is how many people tune in to watch me fight and how many are interested in seeing me fight.
“I don’t care about the rankings. It would be great to have it with the Gypsy King because he promised me. He owes me. That would be the fight that I would like to have.
“If the fight happens, the only person that wins is boxing,” said Chisora about the Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fights. “People falling in love with boxing, and I think boxing wins.
With the money that Chisora is making on Sky Box Office PPV, it’s understandable why he doesn’t care a lot about the rankings. What’s important to Chisora is for him to continue to create interest from British boxing fans so that they want to buy his fights on Sky Box Office.
Being ranked in the top 15 doesn’t help Chisora unless he’s ranked high enough to where he can force a title shot.
You got to figure that Joshua or Fury won’t bother fighting Chisora unless he’s ranked in the top three. Chisora has too many defeats for him to be given a title shot without a high ranking.
“He says Tyson Fury has promised him a fight one of these days, but that’s unlikely to happen unless he beats Usyk and continues winning long enough for him to force a title shot as the WBO mandatory.
Chisora vows not to lose
“I’ve lost nine fights, and I’m still at it,” Chisora said. “There’s nothing wrong with losing fights.
“I blame Joe Calzaghe, Floyd [Mayweather], Rocky Marciano, for retiring with those unbeaten records, and everybody wants to do that.
“This is boxing, and sometimes you have to lose. People want to match Floyd’s record of 51-0, but it really doesn’t matter. Take a loss, bounce back, and go on.
“They’re going to have to take me out of there because I am not going to lose that fight,” Chisora said about his match against Usyk.
“I am going all out. I am going guns blazing all out. 100%, I am going all out. You know when you want something badly what you’d do for it? I’m going to go through this man.
“Whatever he’s got, he’s going to have to get more and more of that to stop me because the way I’m going to be coming for him is unbelievable.
I’m going to go through him. I don’t think in the heavyweight game there is anyone stronger than me right now. I’m more stronger, more crazy, and I want it more,” said Chisora.
If Chisora doesn’t lose to Usyk on Saturday, he’s going to be making a great deal of money at some point when he fights for a world title in 2022 or whenever.
Taking the WBO mandatory position away from Usyk, 33, will put Chisora in the position to challenge the winner of the Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury fights. Unfortunately for Chisora, he won’t be able to challenge for the WBO title in 2021, as those two are planning on fighting twice.
In 2022, Chisora can battle the winner of those two and make a heck of a lot of money. As long as Chisora doesn’t try and force the current WBO champion, Joshua, to fight him straightaway in 2021, he’ll be able to fight whoever holds that belt eventually.
If Chisora tries to push for a title shot next year, Joshua will vacate the WBO title, and Dereck will face the highest-ranked contender in the World Boxing Organization’s top 10 rankings.
That would be either Daniel Dubois or Joseph Parker. Both of those fighters would be tough outs for Chisora, and it’s unclear if he could beat them.
That’s why Chisora should let Joshua and Fury fight twice next year and then wait to fight the eventual WBO belt holder in 2022. But first, Chisora has to do the hard work of defeating the undefeated 2016 Olympic gold medalist Usyk on Saturday.