By James Slater – Though his fighter Derek Chisora will, like most other men who climb into the ring with Wladimir Klitschko, have distinct disadvantages in both height and reach, trainer Don Charles isn’t worried. The reason: he says he feels his fighter if thicker set than the Ring magazine, IBF and WBO champion, and that as a result he is a more powerful puncher than the 34-year-old.
Doubtless many fans will raise an eyebrow at such a claim, but Charles told Sky Sports news recently that his man will overcome the odds and win on December 11th..
“Derek’s actually thicker set,” Charles said. “We will equalise the disadvantage in height with power – I believe Derek’s more powerful than Wladimir.”
Charles has also said in the recent past how his man will be able to rough Klitschko up, and take him out of his comfort zone. And if “Dr. Steel Hammer” does find out firsthand that “Del Boy” can indeed punch harder than he does, he may feel less than comfortable. But thus far in his fledgling 14-0(9) pro career, it’s fair to say Chisora has not shown anything like devastating power. A decent puncher, yes – but a harder one than the heavyweight champion who currently has a formidable 49 KO’s to his name?
Chisora is certainly training hard for the upcoming fight. Currently away from all distractions in Scotland, the underdog challenger says he is looking forward to running up Ben Nevis. Promising to be in the best shape – both mentally and physically – of his boxing life, the 26-year-old will no doubt achieve that. But can he possibly be expected to win next month? Most experts say no.
However, the Klitschko camp apparently have some concern the fight might not even go ahead at all. With the reigning British and Commonwealth champ due in court for an assault charge on Nov. 10th – the full penalty if he is found guilty being six months – Klitschko has reportedly found backup opponents just in case.
“Yes, we have already begun to negotiate with other opponents,” Klitschko is quoted as saying by The Daily Star. “At the moment we cannot disclose their names.”
Most likely, according to the word around the net, Chisora will NOT be sentenced, most likely fined, and the fight will go on as planned. But it would be interesting to nonetheless to hear who the replacement fighters are. Chauncey Welliver’s name was floating around as a potential challenger for Wladimir at one point, as was Jean Marc Mormeck’s name. The Frenchman now faces Hasim Rahman on Dec. 2nd, but Welliver would almost certainly take the big fight if it were offered to him.
For now, though, Klitschko-Chisora is still on. And Team-Chisora is talking a great fight!