Derek Chisora is a renowned English boxing champion who has won major titles in several heavyweight competitions. The boxer is currently the seventh best active heavyweight boxer in the world according to the Transformational Boxing Rankings Board. Surprisingly, Derek pulled off a lot of stunts with his outstanding fighting style and managed to fight his way to superstardom. He competed against top boxing champions; thus, having 29 wins in his 38 professional fights. Learn more about Chisora below.
Dereck Chisora’s Bio
Derek Chisora was born on the 29th day of December 1983 in Mbare, Harare, Zimbabwe. He was born to Zimbabwean parents – Paul and his wife Viola Chisora. Derek had an unstable childhood, his parents separating when he was just four years old. His parents, Phyllis Masarakufa and Angelo De Souza, left him in the care of his parents. Meanwhile, Derek was not a sportsman from his childhood; he was a paramedic while in high school and graduated from Churchill boarding school.
When he was sixteen, Derek went to bewith his mother in England. Upon arrival, the youngster lived with his mother in Finchley, London. He saw it as an opportunity to pursue a career in boxing for which he gained fame. It didn’t take long for the fighter to master the basic skills and begin his career as an amateur boxer. He remained undefeated throughout his amateur career and recorded victory in all of his fights.
Professional career
Turning pro in 2007, Derek launched his first professional career in February with a fight against Hungarian boxer Istvan Kecskes. After defeating Istvan by knockout, Derek won his next three fights. He also recorded victories against top fighters including Sam Sexton, as well as Shawn Mclean and Lee Swaby. He went 8-0 in the first two years of his professional career.
Derek Chisora continued to make waves in his 2009 defeat of Paul Butlin and two other fighters before a title fight against Danny Williams in 2010. Dereck defeated Williams in May 2010 to become the British Heavyweight Champion. His next fight was against Sam Sexton, whom he won by knockout to win the Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship in September 2010.
The Zimbabwean boxer recorded his first career loss to Tyson Fury in July 2011. Following this loss, Derek was stripped of his British and Commonwealth titles. He also competed for the WBA, WBO Intercontinental and European heavyweight titles but ultimately lost to Robert Helenius in December 2011. He faced Wladimir Klitschko for the WBC heavyweight title in February 2012; however, he lost the fight via unanimous decision. His fourth professional loss came against David Haye in July of the same year. After that, Derek bounced back while winning his next five fights.
Amazingly, he won the WBO International heavyweight title after his triumph over Malik Scott in July 2013. He also won the vacant European heavyweight title by beating Edmund Gerber in September and also beat Ondrej Pala to add the WBA International heavyweight title to his exploits. He was defeated by Tyson Fury in 2014, losing his European and WBO International titles.
Derek still wins the vacant WBA heavyweight title after defeating Carlos Takam in July 2018. The fighter appointed David Haye as his trainer in October 2018 and his fight against Dillian Whyte in December 2018 ended in defeat . Currently, the Zimbabwean fighter has won 29 out of 38 fights in his professional career and lost nine.
Net worth: How much is Derek Chisora?
The boxing star has been outstanding since the start of his career and has earned a lot of money from his boxing career, especially pay-per-view matches. According to online sources, Derek’s net worth is around $22 million. He derives his wealth from his boxing career, endorsements, and other ventures.
Family life: does he have a wife or a girlfriend?
As we said earlier, Derek came from a middle class Zimbabwean family. He was raised by his grandparents following his parents’ divorce when he was four years old. Prior to his boxing career, the star moved to the UK to stay with his mother. He did not reveal many details regarding his parents and family. Perhaps he is their only child. Her family has helped her a lot since the beginning of her career. Meanwhile, his mother plays an important role as Derek’s handler.
Undoubtedly, Derek Chisora has garnered huge fame through his boxing career; nevertheless, he is not as successful in his love life. He had a few relationships but never tied the knot. While he likes to keep his personal life out of sight; we already know that he once had a relationship with an Iranian lady named Yalda. The pair had a rather unsuccessful relationship which came to an abrupt end after seven months.
Their relationship was fraught with abuse and Dereck was also sued for domestic violence after punching Yalda in anger. Consequently, the court asked him to pay Yalda compensation of 1,500 euros while benefiting from 150 hours of community service. Since then, there has been no news of Derek’s further relationships.