It wouldn’t be a Derek Chisora fight week without some hint of drama in the build-up. Facing former world champion Joseph Parker on May 1st, a fight being screened in multiple regions on DAZN, Chisora threatened to walk away from the fight if he didn’t come to the ring second.
With neither man defending a belt, the deciding factor on the ring walk was settled by a coin toss and when the New Zealander won it, Chisora was not happy and claimed that he would not go through with the fight. In the hours since that claim, it appears that the 37-year-old has been persuaded to see sense courtesy of his mum.
“Viola, Derek’s lovely mother, and she’s the only person he listens to,” answered David Haye when asked by Sky Sports about the fight being on. “I spoke to Viola and she said ‘I told him he’s going to come to the ring first like he promised and that’s that.’
“We’ve actually had to use Derek’s mother in the past in similar situations where we’re all trying to get Derek to do what we believe is the right thing and he’s not having it. So far, she’s always come up trumps and I’m really happy about that. The fight is 100% on and Derek will be walking to the ring first.”
Parker vs. Chisora is available on DAZN in a number of regions and it kickstarts a huge month for boxing on DAZN. Subscribe to DAZN now.