Derek Chisora surprises Murat Gassiev with December fight announcement

Derek Chisora surprised the boxing world by announcing that he plans to return to the ring in December against Murat Gassiev. Just a few hours earlier, the Russian had said he was unsure whether such a fight was possible because Chisora was not ranked by the WBA. The news quickly became one of the biggest talking points in boxing after the 42-year-old Briton named Gassiev as his next opponent.

Gassiev showed respect for his potential opponent and described him as an extremely strong-minded boxer with a “warrior’s heart”. The two already met face-to-face in July, when Chisora entered the ring after Gassiev’s victory over Peter Kadiru and the pair had an intense face-off.

Before Chisora’s announcement, the champion had mainly been linked with fights against Jarrell Miller, Agit Kabayel or the winner of the major clash between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

Gassiev became the WBA’s main heavyweight champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his titles, but his status is once again uncertain because of plans surrounding Fury vs Joshua on 11 December. The Russian has already started training and said he could fight towards the end of December, although he has not ruled out a return in January or February.

Chisora’s surprise announcement could therefore lead to one of the most intriguing heavyweight fights at the end of the year.