Dereck Chisora stops Edmund Gerber to win European title

bbc.co.uk

Britain's Dereck Chisora won the vacant European heavyweight title with a fifth-round stoppage of Germany's Edmund Gerber at London's Copper Box.

The 29-year-old, who harbours hopes of another world title shot, drew blood from Gerber in the third round.

A series of combination shots cornered Gerber in the fifth, prompting the referee to end the contest.

Elsewhere on the card, Frankie Gavin retained his British and Commonwealth titles against David Barnes.

Chisora, nicknamed 'Del Boy', lost to David Haye last year, but responded with stoppages of Argentina's Hector Alfredo Avila and American Malik Scott to re-shape his career.

He continued his momentum early against his 17st rival, claiming the first three rounds, before weathering a fightback in the fourth.

On the resumption, Chisora assumed control and caught the jaw of his bigger opponent before following up with a telling foray of blows to prompt the stoppage.

"I've been training every day," said Chisora, who now has 18 wins and four losses.

"I told my team I'm going to give myself three years in this game, training every day.

"I've woken up. My mum told me to either do it seriously or stop. So now I'm going to do this seriously."

The win could pave the way for a fight with the winner of the postponed Haye v Tyson Fury bout , or a world title match with Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko.

After watching his fighter claim the European title, Chisora's promoter Frank Warren raised the prospect of a fight with Fury in December.

Meanwhile at the Liverpool Olympia, Derry Matthews delivered a devastating body shot to Curtis Woodhouse to force a fourth-round stoppage and retain his Commonwealth light-welterweight title.

Liam Smith won by unanimous decision against Erick Ochieng to claim the vacant British light-middleweight title.

Smith's win means his family become the first to hold three British titles at the same time, with brothers Paul and Stephen holding belts at super-middleweight and super-featherweight respectively.

Billy Joe Saunders beat John Ryder in their British middleweight title clash at the Copper Box Arena on the site of the London 2012 Olympics.

The 24-year-old from Hertfordshire won a unanimous points decision 115-113, 115-113, 115-114.

Saunders also keeps hold of his Commonwealth belt, ending Ryder's unbeaten record in the process.

"I told my team I'm going to give myself three years in this game, training every day”
Dereck Chisora

Source:  www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/boxing/24192667

Chisora wins European heavyweight title after stopping Gerber at the Copper Box

By Martin Domin   -   dailymail.co.uk

Dereck Chisora finally got his hands on the European heavyweight title by stopping German Edmund Gerber at the Copper Box Arena in London.

Two years after he was controversially beaten by Robert Helenius in Finland for the same belt, Chisora dominated from the first bell on Saturday night, finally ending his opponent's challenge in the fifth round.

The Londoner recorded his third win in succession since losing to David Haye last summer, having stopped both Hector Alfredo Avila and Malik Scott earlier this year.

Both men were content to fight on the inside in the opening round but it was Chisora who made the more aggressive start. The Londoner had particular success with the uppercut and he had Gerber under pressure in the final minute.

Chisora focused almost exclusively on the German's body in the second session, landing a succession of spiteful hooks as his opponent's midriff began to redden.

And the punishment began to take its toll in the the third stanza as Gerber continued to soak up the onslaught. Holding with increasing regularity, he was pinned to the ropes on more than one occasion as Chisora unloaded.

Just as he looked to be in for a comfortable night however, Chisora was rocked by a straight right which sent him staggering back to the ropes. He circled the ring for a good 60 seconds to allow his head to clear before finishing the fourth round strongly.

But normal service was resumed in the next session as the sheer volume of punches coming from Chisora overwhelmed the visitor. Pinned to the ropes, the German was clearly in trouble and after surviving one flurry, was put out of his misery when the referee stepped in with 10 seconds remaining.

Source:  www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-2428584/Dereck-Chisora-beats-Edmund-Gerber-win-European-heavyweight-title.html