By James Slater – Currently suspended but appealing the BBB of C’s decision, controversial British heavyweight contender Dereck Chisora has been spending a fair amount of time in Russia just lately, and the word is the manager of “regular” WBA heavyweight champ Alexander Povetkin has been in talks with “Del Boy” about the possibility of a fight this fall..
According to a news article on RIA Novosti, Povetkin’s manager Vlad Hrunov had the following to say on the subject of a Povetkin-Chisora match-up:
“We’re in talks, and I can say now that this fight could happen in the fall. The only problem is that Dereck doesn’t have a licence. Everyone would agree that [Chisora’s] fight against Vitali Klitschko was competitive, and if we talk about a possible bout between Dereck Chisora and Alexander Povetkin, then this should also be of great interest.”
For good or for bad, Chisora is a hot topic right now; a fighter on the lips of fans the world over. The pre-fight and post-fight shenanigans Chisora got involved in in Munich helped boost his profile massively (again, not necessarily in a good way), and many fans are interested in seeing the Londoner’s next bout. But, as Hruniv says, the problem is he doesn’t have a licence to box.
If, however, Chisora’s appeal proves successful, the former British champ will all of a sudden have a number of options: a fight with Povetkin and maybe one with fellow Brit David Haye amongst them.
Looking at a Chisora-Povetkin fight, it’s certainly possible that Chisora could win this. If it does happen quite soon, before Chisora has had a chance to gain a lot of rust by being left on the shelf for a long time, and basing things purely on each fighter’s last performance, I’d make Chisora a slight favourite to take that “Regular” belt.
But does Chisora deserve to fight again as soon as this year; against anyone let alone a titleholder? Many fans will say no. The British Board will now decide “Del Boy’s” fate.
Unbeaten Povetkin must next face mandatory challenger and former champ Hasim Rahman, this fight likely for July 14th in Germany.