Britain’s Zimbabwe born boxer Dereck Chisora won the vacant European heavyweight title with a fifth-round stoppage of Germany’s Edmund Gerber at London’s Copper Box.
The 29-year-old, who harbours hopes of another world title shot, drew blood from Gerber in the third round.
A series of combination shots cornered Gerber in the fifth, prompting the referee to end the contest. Chisora, nicknamed ‘Del Boy’, lost to David Haye last year, but responded with stoppages of Argentina’s Hector Alfredo Avila and American Malik Scott to re-launch his career.
He enjoyed the early momentum against his 17st rival, claiming the first three rounds, before weathering a fightback in the fourth. On the resumption Chisora assumed control and caught his bigger opponent on the jaw before following up with a sustained flurry of blows to prompt the stoppage.
“I’ve been training every day,” said Chisora, who now has 18 wins and four losses.
“I told my team I’m going to give myself three years in this game, training every day. I’ve woken up. My mum told me to either do it seriously or stop. So now I’m going to do this seriously.”
The win could pave the way for a fight with the winner of the postponed Haye v Tyson Fury bout, or a world title match with Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko. After watching his fighter claim the European title, Chisora’s promoter Frank Warren raised the prospect of a fight with Fury in December. BBC
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