Derek Chisora: Frank Warren pays fighters more than Eddie Hearn
I would pick Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk, adds former WBO International heavyweight champion
Former WBO International heavyweight champion Derek Chisora has told William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan, that his first promoter, Frank Warren, pays more than Eddie Hearn, but Warren often pays his fighters late.
Chisora revealed: “Frank Warren actually pays fighters more than Eddie Hearn, but he pays late. It’s true that Frank pays more, but when the bus comes it’s late. That is why I switched to having Eddie Hearn as my promoter, he pays on time!
“I didn’t want to have to start going to Frank and begging for my money. I love him, he pays well, but he pays late.
“Dean Powell was part of how I came to be promoted by Frank Warren. I met Dean in Soho and I remember he told me, ‘it’s hard to sell you, because you are African’. Then he went on to say, ‘I’ve got it! We’ll put you in a Union Jack, bring you out to the Only Fools & Horses tune, and we’ll call you Del Boy’. I didn’t even know who Del Boy was but I went home, watched it and I fell in love with the character. That was it!”
Fury vs Usyk
Tyson Fury is Frank Warren’s biggest asset at the moment and Chisora gave his thoughts on a potential fight between Fury and Usyk which looks set to take place in February 2024.
“I would pick Tyson Fury to beat Oleksandr Usyk, but if it’s the same Fury that boxed Francis Ngannou then I don’t think he will,” said Chisora. “When you fight in Saudi you arrive on a Monday, at the same time you will have to attend everything, dinners, meetings, press conferences and there are plenty of distractions. On the day of the fight you’ll still be having dinner with your host and then the first time you’re free is when you’re walking to the ring and if you don’t, you’re disrespecting the culture.
Fury is considered by Chisora to be the best of his generation, but Chisora was reluctant to name ‘The Gypsy King’ as the greatest of all time.
“I think everyone has a great legacy to their own fans,” he said. “Within the travelling community, the Gypsy King of course has an incredible legacy given he turned his life around from being depressed and overweight to come back and win some titles.
“We can’t call him the best yet. You can only make those decisions once they have finished their careers, and for Fury that isn’t until he’s fought Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk.”
Having cited Usyk and Joshua as targets for Tyson Fury, Chisora claimed that he has already shown fighters “the blueprint” on how to take on Usyk, and that Joshua has lost his hunger for boxing.
“I think I showed everyone the blueprint of how to fight Usyk,” he said. “But people have chosen not to use it. Be fit and use your size. I said that to Daniel Dubois and he didn’t do it. For me, the thing with Usyk is that when he starts moving his hands up and down and you start moving with him, you’re in trouble. What you need to do is just hit him when he moves his hands. He’s very good, he’s an amazing fighter, but if you let him be an amazing fighter then he’ll walk all over you.
“Boxing for AJ is like rocket fuel. He’s made enough money now that his hunger has gone, but I will say, he wants to become three-time world champion, and I will help him to get there. I think he can do it, and I think he can still be an amazing fighter.”
Article sponsored by HÖRFA