Klitschko unanimously beats Chisora, but post-fight brawl steals the show

Dereck Chisora lost to Vitali Klitschko before taking on fellow boxer David Haye in a post-fight press conference. (AP)

MUNICH -- Three thoughts from Vitali Klitschko’s unanimous decision win over Dereck Chisora:

Let’s start with the brawl. Because this will be all over YouTube, you know, now. During the post-fight press conference David Haye, who was attending the fight as a commentator for a British outlet, started barking at Klitschko. He demanded a fight. Klitschko’s manager, Bernd Boente, told Haye unequivocally, “You’re out. You can’t talk your way into this fight.” After a few minutes, Chisora -- who Haye has openly criticized -- got involved. Chisora made fun of Haye’s toe. Haye made fun of Chisora’s record. Chisora challenged Haye to fight him. Haye said he would knock him out. Chisora left the dais and told Haye to say it to his face. Haye drilled him with an elbow to the chops.

From there, it was bedlam. Haye hit Chisora. Chisora hit Haye. Haye hit Chisora’s trainer, Don Charles. Someone hit Haye’s trainer, Adam Booth, who was cut at the top of his forehead. Haye swung a tripod at one of Chisora’s friends. After a few minutes of brawling, Haye left, and Chisora told Booth, “David is going to fight me or I’m going to shoot him. I’m going to shoot him in the street. I’ll burn him.”

All this amused the Klitschko’s, who stayed out of the fray. Wladimir stood on a chair, laughing. Vitali shook his head and left the room. Boente suggested that Haye and Chisora fight, with the winner earning a shot at Vitali’s WBC heavyweight title belt. Later, a handful of police cars were spotted outside the building, waiting, I was told, for Chisora. All in all, a wild ending to the night.

Chisora sure makes things interesting. One day after slapping Klitschko at the weigh-in -- a shot Chisora says he threw because he promised his mother that when he was face-to-face with a Klitschko he would slap one -- Chisora nearly came to blows with Wladimir Klitschko in his dressing room. Sources say Wladimir, who was in the room inspecting Chisora’s hand wraps, as he often does in Vitali’s fights, took issue with the way Chisora was wrapping his hands, prompting Chisora to rip his wraps off and threaten not to fight. When he finally did get in the ring, Chisora spit water in Wladimir’s face during introductions. “The hardest thing I have ever done,” Wladimir told me later, “was not break his face.”

The Klitschko’s have dealt with trash talkers before, but Chisora’s behavior clearly struck a nerve. “I have big respect for him as a fighter,” Vitali said, “but no respect for him as a human.”

Oh yeah, there was a fight. Chisora talked tough but like most of Vitali’s opponents -- Klitschko is now 9-0 since coming out of retirement in 2008 -- he didn’t measure up. Chisora was aggressive early, taking the fight to Vitali, who struggled throwing his jab due to an arm/hand injury he suffered in the fourth round. Still, Vitali was never in trouble, popping right hands off Chisora’s head and peppering him with combinations. It wasn’t an A+ performance but even Chisora admitted after the fight Vitali had gotten the job done.

-- Chris Mannix