Derek Chisora has said he will continue his boxing career and expects to face Murat Gassiev in December, despite his April defeat by Deontay Wilder having been billed as his 50th and final contest. The 42-year-old British heavyweight said London and Manchester were the possible locations, but the supplied reports do not give a specific date or venue.
Chisora made the claim at an IBA-hosted news conference on Tuesday, where he rejected the suggestion that he had retired. He said that the decision to market the Wilder bout as his final appearance had come from organisers rather than from him, and he presented the proposed Gassiev fight as the next instalment of that farewell branding.
The prospective opponent is a significant one. Gassiev is listed by the WBA as its heavyweight champion, although the precise level of his recognition has become unclear following reports that Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua could fight for the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title in Cardiff on 11 December.
A return rather than a confirmed fight
Chisora said he believed that his December bout with Gassiev would put two belts on the line: an IBA title and a title held by Gassiev. That remains an expectation from Chisora rather than a confirmed sanction, and the information available does not establish which championships, if any, will be formally at stake.
His most recent appearance was the April loss to Wilder, in a fight promoted as a final outing after 50 professional contests. Chisora has 36 wins from those 50 bouts, according to the BBC. His proposed return would therefore be his 51st fight if it is finalised.
That distinction matters for readers weighing the announcement. Chisora has clearly stated his intention to box in December and named Gassiev, but the practical details remain open. The supplied reports give December and name London or Manchester as possible locations, but do not provide a specific date or venue.
Chisora also defended the decision to carry on, saying he had not personally announced a retirement. The April event’s last-dance label has therefore not prevented him from seeking another heavyweight contest, although it had contributed to the expectation that Wilder would be his final opponent.
Gassiev cannot yet clarify belt position
Any title significance is complicated by Gassiev’s own uncertainty over the WBA championship. He had been the WBA regular heavyweight titleholder before being upgraded after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the belt, according to the BBC and Sky Sports. Gassiev said he subsequently understood that Fury and Joshua could contest the WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title, a development that would leave him in a secondary position.
The BBC reported that the WBA website still listed Gassiev as its reigning champion, even as he said he did not have clear information about his status. That listed position and his own account do not settle whether the Fury-Joshua contest will be for the WBA ‘super’ title or what title, if any, could be attached to a meeting with Chisora.
Gassiev last boxed in June, when Sky Sports reported that he stopped Peter Kadiru. The Russian said he had not received clear paperwork or messages explaining his standing. He told Sky Sports that he was continuing to train while people around him communicated with the WBA, rather than claiming to know the outcome himself.
Gassiev has nevertheless set out his preferred competitive consequence if Fury-Joshua is sanctioned for the WBA title: he wants a mandatory fight with the winner. That is a request from the boxer, not a WBA ruling reported in the available evidence. It means the proposed Chisora meeting could carry very different weight depending on how the sanctioning position is resolved.
The chronology is useful here. Gassiev’s title position was already the subject of reporting as Chisora’s proposed December fight emerged, while the Fury-Joshua fight is scheduled for 11 December. As a result, Chisora’s proposal currently sits alongside, rather than after, a still-unsettled WBA decision. Until the WBA’s position, the Gassiev fight’s date and its location are confirmed, it should be treated as a publicly stated plan rather than a completed booking.
For Chisora, the immediate development is straightforward: he has said his career will continue. For the proposed Gassiev contest, however, the venue, timing and title stakes are all matters still requiring formal clarification.