Dereck Chisora has promised a Halloween fright night for Oleksandr Usyk when the pair lock horns on Saturday October 31.
The 36-year-old Londoner (32-9) stands in the way of the superstar Ukrainian’s world heavyweight title ambitions.
Usyk is the WBO’s mandatory challenger heading into the bout. And he expects a victory to land him a shot at Anthony Joshua in early 2021.
But Chisora is hoping to tear up the script in a fascinating showdown, which will air live on Sky Sports Box Office pay-per-view in the UK and DAZN in the United States.
Chisora, speaking on the Matchroom Boxing YouTube channel, said: “31st of October, Oleksandr Usyk is gonna get the fright of his life. War. Seek and destroy, no mercy, that’s what we are aiming for.”
‘War’ Chisora says this is an old-school clash with no hatred or trash talk. He respects Usyk as a fighter, and says they’re doing it for the love of the sport.
“He’s a good fighter, he’s loved by everybody. Loved by the English fans and by those who love boxing,” said ‘Del Boy’.
“There’s nothing bad about this fight, there’s no hatred, nothing – it’s all love of the sport.
“He wants to claim to be at the top of the food chain, he needs to know how to box at heavyweight.”
Chisora on lack of crowds
The big Halloween clash will take place behind closed doors of course, due to current COVID-19 restrictions. And Chisora admits that will present a challenge for both men.
“It’s gonna be hard for both of us. For him and myself, it’s not gonna be easy. If you’re used to boxing in front of 30,000 or 50,000 and you get in that ring and you’re boxing with only the judges and the promoter and the managers and the team it’s gonna be hard. I’m not gonna lie to you.”
Former Olympic champion Usyk remains unbeaten as a professional (17-0). His aim now is to rule at heavyweight as he did so brilliantly at cruiser. But Chisora is ready to go through the pain barrier again in a bid to derail those dreams.
“It’s a fight, the guy’s gonna chuck a kitchen sink at me. I’m just gonna bite that gumshield and let God take over. I am coming.”
For a long time it appeared this fight may not go ahead due to the lack of crowds in arenas, and the financial implications that brings. Chisora though says people are suffering, and he knew he had to do this in spite of the associated challenges.
The COVID reality
He explained: “What’s happening in the whole world right now is that everybody’s suffering. So I could not be selfish and say ‘I’m not gonna do this’.
“Everybody’s in the same boat, if I could do a fight and people could have enjoyment for the next week or five hours when the fight build-up is happening, that’s amazing, forget all the troubles.”
Usyk is not only a master boxer, he’s also a southpaw. Which presents another riddle for Chisora to solve. As he joked, it’s something he’s getting used to.
“I remember watching ESPN a long time ago and somebody saying if you’ve got a good manager they shouldn’t put you in with southpaws,” he said.
“Guess what, I’ve boxed one, two three southpaws since I was with David Haye!”
