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Vitali Klitschko Wants To Give Dereck Chisora A Rematch

Dan Hunter - 22 Feb 2012
''This man deserves real punishment, I want to knock him out!'' says WBC heavyweight champion 

WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko would love to give Dereck Chisora a rematch, but his manager Bernd Boente will never agree to it. Speaking to German newspaper Die Welt this week, Klitschko said of Chisora ''this man deserves real punishment'' and that ''everything I have seen of him is just a nightmare."

However, Boente told the French AFP newswire: "A rematch is absolutely inconceivable and won't happen. Of course, Vitali has been affected emotionally, but a fight is not up for discussion and we will not offer Chisora a further platform."

Klitschko successfully defended his WBC title on Saturday night with a unanimous win over Chisora in Munich, but that statistic only tells a fraction of a story that had begun the previous day when Zimbabwe born Chisora slapped 40 year old Klitschko across the face during their post weigh-in face-off. 

Once in the ring, Chisora spat a stream of water into the face of Wladimir Klitschko, the IBF/WBO/WBA champion, during the national anthems. Upon the conclusion of a grueling encounter that Klitschko was adjudged to have won clearly and unanimously, Chisora appeared ready to renew hostilities with the champion, but instead engaged in a verbal altercation with Wladimir Klitschko. 

However, all of this controversy was nothing more than an aperitif to the main course, as during the post-fight press conference, Chisora entered into an altercation with former WBA heavyweight champion David Haye that resulted in a full scale brawl between the boxers and their entourages that climaxed with Chisora announcing to everyone of his intention to ''shoot'' and ''burn David Haye.'' The shocking images were filmed on dozens of mobile phones, and have since been shown all over the world.  

Both 28 year old Chisora (15-3, 9 KOs) and Haye are under investigation by German police, who have stated the pair could yet face prison sentences. Pending the result of the police investigation, Chisora has had his purse withheld by the WBC. Both men will meet with the British Boxing Board of Control next month, and it is believed that fines and lengthy suspensions will be the order of the day. 

The whole Chisora episode has clearly left a bad taste in Vitali Klitschko's mouth, and this week in an interview with Die Welt he said:
"In spirit, I have no need for revenge, but my ego tells me that this man deserves real punishment. I want to knock him out in the ring."

The Ukrainian, widely regarded as one of the top-ten greatest ever heavyweight champions said of the post-fight brawl:
"I saw it all from the stage, I thought I was in some kind of film.''

During a post-fight medical it was revealed that Klitschko (44-2, 40 KOs) had torn tendons in his left shoulder, and will now need to take the best part of two months off to recuperate. This means that it will be at least five months before he fights again. As he intends to run for office in his native Ukraine this autumn, Vitali's next bout – tentatively scheduled to be versus the winner of this weekend's WBA title fight between Alexander Povetkin and Marco Huck – will be his last. 

Both Vitali and Wladimir have been exemplary pros throughout their long careers, and have been a credit to boxing both inside and outside of the ring. Because of this, Vitali reacted to last weekend's incidents with incredulity:  

''Sooner or later in life a man gets his just punishment. You can't behave like that as an athlete or as a normal person. This was lower than low, I thought it was a play act and just for show, but then I realized that it wasn't. He (Chisora) must be sick in the head, when you think of all he has done. The slap in the face, he spat at Wladimir in the ring, then he fought at the press conference and threatened to shoot someone. How can anyone behave like that? It's unbelievable, I can't believe it. What is in this guy's head? Everything I have seen of him is just a nightmare."

Before the events of Saturday night, Vitali had been rumored to be interested in defending his title against David Haye in the summer, but now this fight would seem to be further away than ever to being made.

Haye did not endear himself to Klitschko or his manager with his ranting performance at the post-fight press conference in which he hurled abuse at both men.
"They are both cut from the same cloth.'' said Klitschko. ''The same thing applies to him (Haye) as to what I said about Chisora."

Dan Hunter is a lifelong boxing aficionado and our Boxing Editor. 





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