David Haye vs Derek Chisora, billed as ''Licensed to Thrill'', was a
professional boxing
Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse bid, purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regula ...
match contested between former
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
champion,
David Haye
David Deron Haye (born 13 October 1980) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 2002 and 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, and was the first British boxer to reach the final of the World Amate ...
, and former world title challenger,
Derek Chisora
Derek Chisora (born 29 December 1983) is a British professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Common ...
. The bout took place on 14 July 2012 at the
Boleyn Ground
The Boleyn Ground, often referred to as Upton Park, was a football stadium located in Upton Park, east London. It was the home of West Ham United from 1904 to 2016, and was briefly used by Charlton Athletic in the early 1990s during their years ...
, with Haye winning by
technical knockout
A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...
in the fifth round.
Background
Chisora's previous fight laid the foundation for his match with Haye. That bout, in February 2012, resulted in a unanimous decision defeat against
Vitali Klitschko
Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko (; uk, Віта́лій Володи́мирович Кличко́ ; born 19 July 1971) is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of KyivWBC heavyweight title. The fight was overshadowed by controversy. Chisora slapped Klitschko in the face at the weigh-in. Then, whilst in the ring before the pre-fight introductions, Chisora spat water in the face of his opponent's brother
Wladimir Klitschko
Wladimir Klitschko; an equivalent English spelling is Vladimir Klichko . His full name in uk, label=Ukrainian is, Володимир Володимирович Кличко, Volodymyr Volodymyrovych Klychko, . ( uk, Володимир Вол ...
.
Haye and Chisora brawl
Haye was present amongst the media at the Klitschko vs Chisora post-fight press conference. During the conference, Haye began a verbal confrontation with both Klitschko, and his manager Bernd Bonte, challenging the WBC champion to a fight. Boente claimed Haye had turned down an opportunity to fight Klitschko, and that he would not get a second opportunity. Chisora then intervened, calling Haye an "embarrassment", and challenged Haye to a fight, to which Haye responded that Chisora had lost "three fights in a row".
Haye continued his verbal assault. Chisora taunted Haye, asking him "how's your toe?", and then left the stage to confront Haye face to face and, in front of the assembled media, the two British fighters and several bystanders became involved in a mass brawl. Haye threw punches at Chisora whilst holding a bottle in one hand, leading to Chisora accusing Haye of glassing him. Chisora's trainer Don Charles was also involved in the brawl and Haye's long-time trainer
Adam Booth
Adam Booth is a British boxing trainer.
He boxed amateur at Winston Churchill ABC, Croydon ABC and the Lynn ABC. Approximately 40+ bouts.
Turned professional and suffered career ending injury prior to debut.
Biography
He is best known as the f ...
received a cut to the forehead whilst trying to break things up;
Booth would later accuse one of Chisora's entourage of striking him with a bottle during the confrontation, though the cause turned out to be a camera tripod that had been picked up and brandished by Haye at the end of the melee, whilst in the aftermath, Chisora was caught on video threatening to "shoot Haye".
German authorities sought both Haye and Chisora following their involvement in the brawl. On 19 February, Chisora and Charles were arrested by German police at
Munich Airport
Munich International Airport- Franz Josef Strauß (german: link=no, Flughafen München) is an international airport serving Munich and Upper Bavaria. It is the second-busiest airport in Germany in terms of passenger traffic after Frankfurt A ...
. Police detained Chisora, but released him without charge following questioning, whilst urging Haye to turn himself in.
On 21 February, Haye and Chisora both released formal statements about the incident. While Chisora "wholeheartedly" apologised for his involvement, Haye was less contrite, refusing to issue a direct apology for his involvement, claiming he had acted in self-defence.
Subsequent to a hearing in March the following year regarding the incident, Chisora had his
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
boxing license withdrawn, and the WBC initiated a motion to ban Chisora indefinitely and fine him for his involvement.
The fight is announced
On 8 May, it was announced Haye would come out of retirement to fight Chisora, and the bout would take place on 14 July, at the Boleyn Ground Stadium. It was also announced that
BoxNation
BoxNation was a British dedicated boxing subscription television channel, operated by Viaplay. The brand is licensed from George Warren's Queensbury Commercial.
History
BoxNation was launched by Frank Warren Promotions as a free-to-air channe ...
would promote the event in association with Team Sauerland and
Hayemaker Promotions
Hayemaker Promotions is a promotional company operated by former WBA heavyweight and undisputed cruiserweight champion David Haye. The company held their first boxing promotional event in Sheffield on 20 September 2008.
Starting Up
On establishing ...
, and
Alexander Povetkin
Alexander Vladimirovich "Sasha" Povetkin (russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Пове́ткин; born 2 September 1979) is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2021. He held the WBA (Regular) heavyw ...
would defend his
WBA (Regular)
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
heavyweight title against
Hasim Rahman
Hasim Sharif Rahman (born November 7, 1972) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1994 to 2014. He is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having held the unified WBC, IBF, IBO and lineal titles in 2001; and the WBC tit ...
on the undercard. Additional security were present at the press conference and a steel fence was put in place to keep Haye and Chisora separated during the announcement.
On 9 May, tickets went on sale, with 17,000 being sold on the first day of sale. On 18 May, it was announced that the fight had been sanctioned by both the WBA and
WBO
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) is an organization which sanctions professional boxing bouts. It is recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) as one of the four major world championship groups, alongside the World Boxing ...
, and licensed by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation.
On 11 July, it was announced that the fight would be scheduled for 10 rounds, rather than a 12 rounder, with the winner receiving approximately £20,000 for charity from the loser.
Reaction to the fight
Several boxers, boxing officials and governing bodies criticised the fight after it was announced. In particular, the WBC adopted a firm stance against the contest, threatening to revoke the licenses of anyone involved in the fight, including promoters, trainers, timekeepers, referees and undercard fighters.
The fight also garnered plenty of support. Former boxer
Ricky Hatton
Richard John Hatton (born 6 October 1978) is a British former professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and has since worked as a boxing promoter and trainer. During his boxing career he held multiple world championships at li ...
defended the match, and said that Haye and Chisora were not breaking any rules and Chisora's manager Frank Warren stated that it was the "biggest fight of the year".
The fight
In front of a crowd of 30,000 in attendance. Chisora entered the stadium, hooded and masked to the theme from ''
Gladiator
A gladiator ( la, gladiator, "swordsman", from , "sword") was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gla ...
'', and Haye to his entry music "
Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now
"Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" is a 1979 disco song performed by American R&B duo McFadden & Whitehead, from their debut album ''McFadden & Whitehead''. They wrote and produced the song along with keyboard player Jerry Cohen. McFadden & Whitehead wou ...
" by
McFadden & Whitehead
McFadden and Whitehead were an American R&B duo, best known for their signature tune "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now". They wrote and produced some of the most popular R&B hits of the 1970s, and were primarily associated with the Gamble and Huff re ...
. In the opening two rounds, Chisora applied constant pressure, with Haye landing scoring shots at range. The bout heated up at the end of the third round, as Chisora closed the distance and caught Haye with a flush left hook after the bell had gone, which appeared to hurt Haye. Chisora emerged at the start of the fourth round aggressively, exchanging punches with Haye. Towards the end of the fifth round, Haye landed with a quick, hard left hook, followed by a right hand, which knocked down Chisora for the first time in his career. At the eighth count, Chisora made it to his feet, Haye connected with a series of punches, knocking Chisora down for a second time, and though he regained his feet again, the referee waved the fight off, therefore giving Haye the win by TKO in the fifth round.
Aftermath
In the post-fight press conference, Haye and Chisora expressed their respect for each other and concluded their rivalry. Haye was then challenged by
Manuel Charr
Mahmoud Omeirat Charr ( ar, محمود عميرات شعار), previously known as Manuel Charr, is a German professional boxer who held the WBA (Regular) heavyweight title from 2017 to 2021, and challenged for the WBC heavyweight title in 201 ...