Boxing: Mad, bad & dangerous

Sunday 8 July 2012

Not since Nigel Benn and Chris Eubank fought each other 20 years ago has British boxing had such a glorious and potentially ferocious rivalry to enjoy.

David Haye and Dereck Chisora were kept apart by a metal fence when they promoted the fight Photograph: Getty

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Steve Bunce

Not since Mike Tyson arrived at a press conference and took a chunk out of Lennox Lewis's thigh, a second after Lewis had thrown a sucker punch, has heavyweight boxing had such a volatile fight to control.

On Saturday, at Upton Park, in front of an anticipated crowd of 40,000, David Haye will fight Dereck "Del Boy" Chisora in an attempt to settle their differences the old fashioned way. In an 80-second flash-bulb of disturbing images, their sudden and vicious brawl in Munich five months ago upgraded Saturday's fight from inconsequential to essential.Contrary to popular perception the fight has been easy to make, a simple case of two men desperate to do business and fight each other. However, the governance and control of the event have kept the lawyers busy as various people and organisations have either endorsed the fight or withdrawn support of the event. The facts are simple: it is a perfectly legal fight, sanctioned by one of the sport's oldest governing bodies, the Luxembourg Boxing Federation. The British Boxing Board of Control, which is a private company and not a democratically elected or government sanctioned authority, are not involved. The last time that many people paid to stand and sit and watch two fighters in Britain was in 2007 when unbeaten world champions Joe Calzaghe and Mikkel Kessler met at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. On that night 50,150 paid, but there is a chance next weekend's takings could be higher; there is also a rumour that Haye and Chisora will split more money than any two fighters have ever done in a British ring."It's not about the money with me and it has never been about the money," insists Chisora, who has lost three of his last four fights. "It's gone beyond personal and that suits me. I need motivation and every time I listen to him I get motivated. He is a joke."It is about the money with Haye and in private he has laughed at the amount he is making compared to the risk he thinks he is taking."This is mis-match. A total mis-match in my mind," Haye said. "I know Chisora is stupid but surely he is not that stupid to think he can fight me like he has done in the past? Surely he doesn't think he can just walk out and charge me? Is he really that stupid?"Haye does have a history of entertaining bold talk and then fighting a fight not even remotely similar to his pre-fight boasts. He pulls off the trick by smiling, winning most of the time and repeating the same articulate sound bites. Fans want to like him and have even, it appears, forgiven him his lapse in judgment when after his last fight, a defeat on points to Wladimir Klitschko, he revealed a swollen toe as an excuse. Chisora, meanwhile, pushed the other Klitschko, Vitali, the full 12 rounds in February and gave him arguably his hardest fight for nearly a decade. "I tried, I did what I promised and never blamed my toe. I have some pride and that is the difference between us. I have heart," insisted Chisora.It is unfortunate that his stunning performance against Vitali was eclipsed by his skirmish with Haye at the post-fight conference.The fight will excel the hype, but Haye's claims of it being a massacre seem odd because Chisora can fight and yet so few in the boxing business seem aware of that. He is not easy to like but that should have nothing to do with his ability.On the same night in Las Vegas Amir Khan finally gets back in the ring when he fights Danny Garcia for the WBC light-welterweight title and possibly the WBA belt. Khan was due a rematch with Lamont Peterson, who won a controversial decision against Khan last year, but Peterson was caught doping in May. The WBA belt, which has been stripped from Peterson, is likely to be on offer to Saturday's winner.Garcia's foul-mouthed father Angel has done his bit for race-relations and ticket sales with a series of personal assaults on Khan. "I have never met a Pakistani that can fight. Khan's a nobody and my son is going to kick the s*** out of him," screamed Garcia senior last week.However, the real problem is a British fighter called Ajose Olusegun, who fights in America, and has been the WBC's main contender for too long. He has watched helpless, frustrated and sinking further into debt as seven different men in five fights have won and lost the WBC belt. He had Garcia in his sights before Peterson had a testosterone pellet inserted into his hip, failed a test and opened the way for Garcia to replace him. Olusegun is not a main attraction and that is why he has been overlooked, which makes financial sense but is not right. Khan, by the way, will win in style.

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