Derek Chisora brands Oleksandr Usyk “selfish”

Derek Chisora has criticized Oleksandr Usyk for waiting until after his April fight with Deontay Wilder to vacate his heavyweight world titles.

Usyk relinquished the WBC, IBF and WBA belts last month while remaining lineal champion, allowing Agit Kabayel and Murat Gassiev to be elevated and leaving the IBF title vacant.

Chisora said he repeatedly contacted Usyk and his manager before facing Wilder, asking him to release the IBF belt so their fight could potentially be contested for the vacant title.

“I was like, ‘Bro, I’m fighting Deontay Wilder. Drop the IBF title. Do this for me as a friend,’” Chisora said. “We pressured him; we phoned him every day, and he didn’t play ball.”

Chisora described Usyk’s decision to retain the belts at that time as “selfish,” arguing that the Ukrainian only reconsidered his future after a difficult 11th-round stoppage victory over Rico Verhoeven in May.

Chisora ultimately lost to Wilder by split decision, while mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez is now positioned to compete for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.

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