Evergreen heavyweight contender Dereck ‘War’ Chisora 32-11 (23) says he feels rejuvenated after reconnecting with former trainer Dave Coldwell ahead of his rematch against former WBO champion Joseph Parker 29-2 (21) at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England on December 18.
The 37-year-old had to settle for a split decision loss in his first fight against Parker in May despite having the 29-year-old New Zealander on the deck early in the first round.
“Training wise it’s been amazing, we’ve got a lot of fighters in there,” Chisora said during a media call.
“They always say you don’t finish learning, you learn every day, and if you don’t want to learn every day you’re a fool.
“I’ve come today to learn more. When I go in the gym, the first day I went back, I told him: ‘I don’t come with ego or anything, so I will ask you questions like I’m a five-year-old. I’ll go back and back and keep asking you’.
“He understood that, so training together has been amazing. Everything he wants me to do I’m trying and I’m doing it.
“You’re going to see so many changes, we’re going for a stoppage to be honest with you. I know most people wonder why I’ve been talking about the refs, it’s just one of those things.
“We know exactly what Joseph’s going to try to do. He’s going to try and come in the later rounds and push his power and speed.
“You can tell by how someone is training how they’ll fight. He’s running a lot, so he’s willing to go to the deep end, which is good.”
Some boxers would see back-to-back losses as a blight on their career, but Chisora believes that win, lose or draw, more opportunities will come his way.
“There’s always plenty of life. Win or lose, there’s always something else happening. Most fighters say they retire from boxing, but you don’t retire from boxing,” he said.
“You say it and two weeks later you’re in the gym helping other guys to progress. Boxing is a hard game to leave. Even those who do come back. For me, there’s no losing option for this fight to be honest with you.”
Chisora was asked if he thought former WBA, WBO and IBF champion Anthony Joshua 24-2 (22) should avoid an immediate rematch with the man who lifted his belts, former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk 19-0 (13).
He was emphatic in his response.
“Do you think he should swerve the fight? Should he not fight again? It’s nonsense. We’re in the fighting game. If you’re a trader in the stock market and you lose about two-and-a-half million, you don’t go home and cry about it, you go back and try to make that money back,” he said.
“So yeah, he should take the rematch. It’s no big deal. You lose a fight and you move on. If he doesn’t take it, where does he go? Who does he fight? Deontay Wilder? Listen, the boxing game right now is only worth money because AJ’s in it, that’s the God’s honest truth.
“Everyone else makes money because he’s in it. People didn’t make money when Wladamir Klitschko [was champion]. People weren’t in love with boxing. Deontay Wilder was WBC champion, people were not really interested.
“When was the last time we had someone selling 60,000 in an arena? [He] sold out Cardiff, Wembley, Tottenham. When was the last time that happened? It’s never happened.
“The guy’s come in, he’s done an amazing job, him and [promoter] Eddie [Hearn] and Sky as well. They’ve done this amazing thing, selling these arenas out, giving a great show. Then the day he loses, he shouldn’t take the rematch? He just had a bad day at the office.”
