Derek Chisora admits he ‘takes MDMA and goes raving’ in shock coaching camp confession
BOXING CLEVER COLUMN: Derek Chisora has never been shy to speak his mind and the British heavyweight was in full flow ahead of the penultimate bout of his career against Otto Wallin this Saturday
Derek Chisora sat in a cowboy hat and discussed topics such as smoking weed, raving, MDMA, Nigel Farage, Keir Starmer, coin flipping and retirement.
There was a bit of boxing talk, too. Welcome to a press conference with the British heavyweight. Chisora, 41, takes on Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin on Saturday night at Co-Op Live in Manchester in what he promises will be his penultimate outing in the ring as he sits two fights shy of 50 bouts.
It has been a tumultuous career of some highs and plenty of lows. There’s been 13 defeats, some should come with asterixes given he’s not got some decisions he deserved and suffered at the hands of fighters who would later fail drug tests.
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There’s been plenty of run-ins with the British Boxing Board of Control – who he joked chief Robert Smith drives a Rolls Royce with his fine payments – and nasty moments that he must regret. Rolling around on the floor with David Haye at a press conference and slapping Vitali Klitschko were two low points.
Then there was throwing the table at Dillian Whyte in the same room which he held his penultimate pre-fight press conference this week. But there’s been some great highs and entertaining fights which have turned him from a Marmite character to one which the British boxing public now rally behind.
It is why hanging them up will not only mean the end of the pay days he loves, it also means he will not enjoy the adulation of the crowds which he adores. That for some ex-fighters is what they find in normal life a struggle and one thing they cannot replace which often leads to comebacks or mental health battles.
“Because they don’t rave,” was Chisora’s response when asked how he will not fall into those traps while trying to replace the boxing buzz. “That’s why. They don’t do MDMA. I do MDMA. If there is a rave happening I’m going.
“If there’s a rave in my camp, I put it in my diary and I say ‘please don’t call me or find me because you know where I am. They say ‘you can’t go!’ and I say ‘guess what I’m doing, I’m going!’”
It’s hard to know if Chisora is being playful or serious. Especially when he’s sat in shades, a cowboy hat and looking at his phone because his Ring doorbell app is showing someone delivering a McDonald’s to his home back in north London.
But he shows a more softer side when asked what he will do in retirement. “I’m going to be a dad for a year,” he said. “Hang out with my kids and my wife for a year. See what happens.”
It is wife Emily and mum, Viola, who have been imploring him to retire as his 18-year career finally winds down. It’s been a weird, and sometimes, wonderful journey. The bizarre story of Chisora’s career is nearing its end.
