'Freak show’ and flair on boxing menu
Whether you like your boxing classical or wild, SuperSport will offer both options this weekend.
On Saturday night, months of pent-up anger and resentment will spill over when British heavyweights David Haye and Dereck Chisora collide over 10 rounds at West Ham United’s football ground.
Such was the fallout following their public brawl earlier this year, which included Chisora threatening to shoot Haye, the British Boxing Board refused to sanction Saturday’s event.
The tournament has been widely condemned and described as an “outlaw fight” and a “freak show”.
Not that this has swayed British fight fans, who have already snapped up 30 000 tickets to attend.
Said Haye: “I’m looking forward to having him in my face. It will be explosive but he doesn’t do anything I can’t handle.”
The Zimbabwe-born Chisora has no issue with the fight being labelled a freak show.
“People like freak shows. If they want to watch, let them watch. We don’t care. I’m coming to fight. I’ll be all over him from the first bell of the first round. I talk a good fight and I put up a good fight. I’m going to destroy this kid, badly.”
If the UK event has a touch of vulgarity about it, two of the sport’s most refined practioners will do battle a few hours later in Las Vegas when Amir Khan and Danny Garcia fight for the WBC and WBA junior-welterweight titles.
The contest materialised because Khan’s return bout with Lamont Peterson, who controversially beat him last year, was called off when Peterson tested positive for steroids.
Khan, a 2004 Olympic silver medalist, will start as a marginal favourite, but Garcia cannot be taken lightly: he is fast and unbeaten in 23 fights.
“It’s a tougher test because Garcia is young and hungry,” Khan said. “Peterson was more experienced and dirtier. But we know what to expect and what we have to do.”
BROADCAST DETAILS (all times are CAT, SA, GMT+2)
UK tournament: Saturday (SS6, from 8.30pm).
US tournament: Sunday (SS2, from 4am).
