Dereck Chisora considers the unbeaten American fighter Malik Scott to be a more dangerous opponent than Deontay Wilder, who was forced to withdraw from a bout with the Englishman next month as a result of his arrest for domestic violence.
Instead Chisora will meet Scott at Wembley Arena at a rearranged date of July 20. The heavyweight comes into the fight with an unblemished record comprising 36 wins and one draw. He is regarded as a more than formidable adversary for Chisora, who only halted a run of three straight defeats – against Robert Helenius, Vitali Klitschko and David Haye – last month when he laboured to an unimpressive ninth-round stoppage of Argentina's Hector Alfredo Avila.
"I wasn't that disappointed when Wilder pulled out. The show must go on. This guy Scott is a very good fighter – very good around the ring," said Chisora. "[Trainer] Don Charles and I have seen some footage of him fighting and he's good. This will be a tougher fighter than Wilder. But I'm going to beat him up.
"This guy switches a lot and uses the ring more than any other fighter I've ever fought. Scott's a Rolls-Royce, while Wilder is a Reliant Robin."
Promoter Frank Warren hopes the 29-year-old from Finchley will make more of an impression in this bout as he seeks to manoeuvre Chisora into a second world title attempt within the next eight to 10 months.
"We were let down badly by Deontay Wilder – we had the fight confirmed but he was arrested for domestic violence and therefore had his passport taken off him so can't travel," Warren said. "We had this show put back to July 20 so that we could find a credible opponent for Dereck. It would have been easy to find a marking time fight but Scott is tough.
"Dereck can't afford to lose this fight. He has to win and look good doing it. If he does so I'll make sure he gets a crack at the world title."
Chisora will headline Warren's 'Behind Enemy Lines' bill and will be supported by new stablemate Carl Frampton. Having lost a succession of fighters to Eddie Hearn's Matchroom – among them world champion Ricky Burns – Warren has lured European and Commonwealth super-bantamweight title holder Frampton in the opposite direction.
Matchroom issued a statement yesterday outlining a "potential conflict of interest" in the desire of Barry McGuigan to be Frampton's joint-promoter as well as manager, hence the decision to sever ties with the Northern Irishman. Regardless, the highly-rated 26-year-old has been tipped for a shot at the world title.
Meanwhile, Paul Smith and Tony Dodson will clash for the vacant British super middleweight title at the Bolton Arena on June 29.
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