By Vitali Shaposhnikov: “I’m in tip-top shape, the best I’ve been in for my entire career…” was the default statement from Dereck Chisora, a declaration that most fighter make in press conferences before their fights.
“I’m in tip-top shape, the best I’ve been in for my entire career and I’m going to smash Mr. Vitali Klitschko to bits. People are saying that Klitschko is the hardest fight of my career, but this is going to be the hardest fight of his career. I’m going to war with him, he won’t get to use that big height and reach against me with the way I’m going to fight him and I’ve got the eighth round in my head that I’m going to stop him in. Everyone that has fought the Klitschko brothers has been scared, this is one cat that isn’t scared of him or anyone and I’ll throw him off of that throne he’s been sitting on for the last few years.” (http://www.fightnews.com/Boxing/chisora-vows-to-ko-vitali-in-eight-106756)
These are the words from a 15-2 record fighter, directed at the dominant world champion with a 43-2 record.
Of course I understand why Chisora would say something like that, as self promotion is crucial for any and all fighters. Still, the way I see it, the more a fighter says, the deeper the hole is if they lose. A good example of that would be David Haye, the professional mouth-runner, who is now nothing but a clown in the boxing community.
There aren’t too many boxing fans out there expecting to see Vitali dethroned in his fight again Chisora. It’s definitely a good thing, that young fighters get the opportunity to fight a champion, but it’s also important for them to understand that they are facing fierce competition, and words spoken play a big part in their future win or lose.
I am very curious to see what Chisora is all about, and how Vitali handles this young challenger.