Senad Gashi says Derek Chisora “doesn’t have a boxing brain” and has questioned whether the 35-year-old’s new trainer Dave Coldwell will have any impact on their clash at The O2 in London on April 20, shown live on Sky Sports in the UK and DAZN in the US.
The Spain-based German heads into next week’s showdown with ‘WAR’ Chisora holding a record of 17 wins from 19 fights, with all 17 of those wins coming by way of knockout. He hopes another big KO win over the former British and Commonwealth Champion will propel his name towards Heavyweight title action.
“Derek Chisora is an old dog and it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks,” said Gashi. “Derek is a very experienced guy, he doesn’t have a boxing brain but his toughness and experience makes up for that. What I will say is he looks like he’s in the best shape of his life.
“We are two very different fighters but what we both share is lots of heart. We are both warriors deep down and I predict that this will be a fight that people will talk about for a very long time. He calls himself ‘WAR’ Chisora and it’s a war he’s going to get. People will love this fight.”
Gashi travelled to the UK to take on former World title challenger Carlos Takam at short notice last time out in December on the Whyte vs. Chisora 2 undercard. After a brave showing, he was eventually stopped by the French-Cameroonian in the seventh round, but ‘GachineGun’ is adamant there would have been a different outcome if he was given time to prepare properly.
“I had just three days’ notice for my fight with Takam. If I’d of had a full training camp I am confident I would have beaten him. I was fighting from instinct and my stamina wasn’t there. In the end I gassed out and you all saw what happened. I came to the fight without a coach and I decided my strategy 20 minutes before the fight started.
“I’ve had a full training camp this time and I’ve done my homework. I’m prepared and ready to get the win. I watch the round Whyte KO’d Chisora every day. I know that I’m able to give any fighter on the planet a hard night and I’ll show everyone the real Senad Gashi on April 20.”
Chisora vs. Gashi is part of a huge night of boxing in the Capital.
Doncaster fan favourite Dave Allen (16-4-2, 13 KOs) faces the biggest night of his career against Australia’s former WBA Heavyweight World Champion Lucas Browne (28-1, 14 KOs), Sunderland’s ‘Pretty Boy’ Josh Kelly (8-0, 6 KOs) takes on the toughest opponent of his career to date in the form of unbeaten 17-0 Pole Przemyslaw Runowski and Ilford Welterweight prospect Conor Benn (13-0, 9 KOs) makes his long-awaited return to the ring, Brooklyn Middleweight prospect Nikita Ababiy (3-0, 3 KOs) makes his UK debut and Watford Bantamweight Shannon Courtenay fights for the second time as a pro after her debut win at the Copper Box Arena.
General Sale tickets for April 20 are available to purchase from StubHub (www.stubhub.co.uk), The O2 (www.theo2.co.uk) and Matchroom Boxing (www.matchroomboxing.com)
