David Haye, the manager of Dereck Chisora, took notice of a photo on Instagram purporting to show that Chisora’s up-coming opponent Oleksandr Usyk is bulking up during the coronavirus pandemic.
Haye responded by saying that his man also is working hard in anticipation of their showdown, which was scheduled for May 23 at O2 Arena in London but later postponed.
Chisora and his handlers reportedly are exploring the possibility of staging the fight in Saudi Arabia, which could lift its coronavirus restrictions as soon as July.
“Derek is in a good place,” Haye told talkSPORT. “The fight date he’s been working towards has been postponed and Usyk is in training and we can see from his social media that he is ticking over in the Ukraine.
“He’s ranked in every boxing expert’s Top 5 pound-for-pound fighters, he’s an Olympic champion, he’s never ever lost a boxing match before, he was the undisputed cruiserweight champion. He’s the man, the most skilled smaller heavyweight out there.
“Derek Chisora has lost nine fights, many people think he’s passed his prime, but believe me he was having a run in training camp like I’ve never seen him before – the sparring, the physical side of things.
“He’s got on his discipline, he’s eating the right food, he’s sleeping the right times, he’s not doing all of the things he did in the past that culminated in him losing those nine fights. He shouldn’t have lost all of those fights. A lot of the time he wasn’t just in the best physical condition, the right mind-set, but he is now.
“I think Usyk has miscalculated how good Chisora is, he doesn’t realize how strong he is. He’s like a bull, he’s absolutely rock-solid, and he’s still training now. A lot of boxers would fly off the handle in this lockdown, they’d be on the beers, smashing Easter eggs, but he hasn’t. He’s been really on it, he’s been looking after himself.
“So when this thing dies down and he finally gets his opportunity, he beats Usyk and then he is then the No. 1 contender for Anthony Joshua, and that’s a dream come true for him.”