Frank Warren has opened up on his plans for two of his heavyweight stars, Moses Itauma and Derek Chisora, ahead of them sharing a fight card on December 13 in Manchester.
The Queensberry boss admitted he is still working on a fight for the veteran heavyweight Chisora.
Warren said on TalkSPORT of Chisora’s next opponent: “I don’t know yet.
“It’s something we’ve got to sort out. We’ve got quite a way to go yet before we officially announce that. We’ve got some great cards coming up, but I just can’t give you any information on that at the moment because we were looking at an opponent, but that opponent is no longer available, so we’ve got to fish around and hunt for a new one.”
Chisora currently sits ranked number two with the IBF, having experienced a late career revival following two upset victories over Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin.
Names like Deontay Wilder and Daniel Dubois have been thrown around for Chisora in what will be his 50th and potentially final fight. But Warren dismissed them both, saying Dubois is still carrying an injury and Wilder is not even on the Queensberry radar at the moment.
Subscribe to DAZN now to watch over 185 fights a year
Despite having a 20-year-old phenom and future world champion on his books, Warren continues to struggle to get Itauma the ring experience that those around him think he needs before an inevitable shot at a world title in the near future.
This comes down to Itauma breezing past all the men that have been supposed to give him that experience already, like Mariusz Wach, Demsey McKean and Dillian Whyte.
Warren claimed that fighters either simply reject an Itauma fight offer or intentionally price themselves out of the fight to save face.
He said: “You do get that from some of them, and then the other way of saying ‘no thanks’ is to ask for crazy money, which doesn’t make it economically viable.
“There are obviously people who do want to fight him, and we are talking to a couple of them at the moment. We’ve delivered for him as of yet, and we will deliver for him at the end of the year.”
Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing
Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.
Buy Now
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Enjoy 185+ fights a year on DAZN, the Global Home of Boxing
Never miss a fight from top promoters. Watch on your devices anywhere, anytime.
Buy Now
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Itauma is the heir apparent to the heavyweight crown. He is a top-five-ranked fighter with all four major sanctioning bodies, and some believe he is ready for the undisputed champion, Oleksandr Usyk, now.
Although Itauma may struggle to get a shot at Usyk before he retires, Warren has promised that his next opponent will be a top ten-ranked heavyweight.
A DAZN subscription provides access to over 185 fights a year across a range of combat sports from the world’s best promoters.
For pricing and more information, click here
.jpg?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800 "Rachel Reeves warns of looming ‘harsh headwinds’ as she fails to dispel fears over major tax rises at Labour Party conference – UK Times")