By James Slater: Moments ago, as he was at the soon to be packed-out Upton Arena in London ahead of his fighter Dereck Chisora’s massive fight with archrival David Haye, ESN was able to speak with trainer Don Charles.
Pressed for time as one could expect, Don was still kind enough to answer the following questions:
James Slater: Thanks so much for talking with me, Don – I know you are very, very busy!
Don Charles: It’s okay, but my phone battery is extremely low right now!
J.S: I’ll be quick. First of all, are you happy with Del Boy’s weight of 247? Haye says he can see a lot of fat on Dereck.
D.C: I’m very happy. You know, you can be 20-stone and be fit. It all depends on what you’ve been doing. And Dereck has been working extremely hard. And as for Mr. Haye to say Dereck looks fat – how embarrassing is it going to be for him when the fat boy beats him! Haye has always said Dereck looks fat, whatever he’s weighed. Haye will be very ashamed after he’s been beaten by the fat boy who will be all over him like a rash as Dereck has said he will be – that’s all I can say. But I will add, this is not a six-pack contest! The “fat boy” will beat the body beautiful. No doubt.
J.S: And the fight being set for 10, not 12-rounds – which was a surprise to many people, such as Colin Hart and others. Is this an advantage for Haye?
D.C: No. Listen, we’re versatile, we’ve trained for 20-rounds. The thing is, Haye and Adam Booth are both insecure people. The contract stipulated that the fight could be for 12 rounds or it could be for 10. If both parties agreed twelve, it would be for twelve. But they chose ten at the last minute because they know Haye cannot go 12 rounds with Dereck Chicora – they know that. Haye says a lot but he is an insecure person. They want to be smart, but sometimes you can be too smart. I said to them, why not make it six rounds as you’re playing games. We don’t need twelve rounds to beat Haye. This fight will be settled well inside the ten-rounds.
J.S: Not giving away tactics, but will Dereck go right at Haye? Haye says he wants that.
D.C: Listen, Haye says a lot, as I’ve said, but he is insecure. We know what we’re going to do. Haye will dance to our tune, not the other way on.
J.S: And finally, Don, some fans still insist that the whole Munich brawl that has led to this fight was set up all along. I know you got an injured jaw and Adam Booth got hit with a tripod, bit some crazy people are adamant it was all set-up. It’s a dumb question really, but just for the record!
D.C: If it was staged and acted out, we should all be in Hollywood! I was personally involved in what happened in Germany, and I have a permanent lump on my lip. So, no, no way was it staged. If there was a script, Haye never read it!
J.S: Thanks so much for your time, Don. Best wishes for tomorrow’s massive fight. And it really is a massive event!
D.C: Thank you, Yes it is massive!
D.C: Thank you. Yes, it is massive.