adminA prime example was the Finchley slugger’s bout with Tyson Fury in July 2011, when he dropped both the British and Commonwealth crowns via unanimous decision after entering the contest in poor physical condition.
But as he proved against WBC world champ Vitali Klitschko early last year, Del Boy is more than capable of holding his own against the big boys.
And Charles firmly believes Chisora can work his way back into title contention after consigning his dark days to history.
The respected trainer told SunSport: “In life it’s is about maturity and the people around you — you are the company you keep.
“Dereck has a lot of good quality people around him now and obviously it’s rubbing off. From myself to his mother and his very good friends, we’ve also got a fantastic camp.
“People like Wadi Camacho, the latest Prizefighter winner, have come into the camp and he is a great example of what I am referring to.
“Dereck is picking up on the positive energy and that’s what you see now.”
Along with much-publicised problems away from boxing, Chisora was embroiled in a shameful bust-up with David Haye after being outpointed by Klitschko in February 2012.
Following his loss to Haye inside five rounds at Upton Park last summer, the charismatic Londoner set about conquering the demons in a bid to regain his fight licence from the British Boxing Board of Control.
With the BBBofC happy he was well on the way to being a reformed character, Chisora returned to action against Hector Alfredo Avila in April.
As Charles openly admits, the ninth-round stoppage at Wembley Arena was far from a classic display from his fighter.
But with unbeaten Malik Scott up next at the same venue on July 20, Team Chisora are in confident mood.
Charles added: “It’s been a gradual thing, but he’s gotten rid of people who maybe should not have been around him — those who are only there for the good times.
“When you lose fights, that’s when you find out who your real friends are. When the chips are down, you see for yourself the real people around you.
“He’s now filtered through the negative people and it’s the quality ones — who were quality from day one — who remain around him.”
Ask Charles how good a peak condition Chisora can be and you get a short and sweet answer: “Unfightable and unbeatable.”
And as the softly-spoken cornerman admits, he would not hesitate to put his man back in the ring with Klitschko — or let him have a crack at the Ukrainian’s younger brother Wladimir.
He said: “Before you could even finish the sentence with that name — and Klitschko is a long name — I’d agree.
“When you’ve fought for the WBC title, it does not really get bigger than that. Anything less will never be considered as big.
“But obviously we have to be realistic here as Dereck is on the comeback trail.
“He’s had a series of losses in big fights but Frank Warren is a master at bringing people back. He’s a magician, in fact.
“We’ve got that winning feeling again. OK, it was not the best performance in the world against Avila but nevertheless it was a win.
“The next fight is a massive challenge against Scott and we’re confident of victory. When you get that ‘W’ once again, the confidence lifts both the fighter and the coaching staff. This chap up next has 35 wins in 36 fights and we recognise that, but there’s a cliche in boxing that records are only for DJs.
“We will go in there on July 20 and demonstrate that he has not fought at Dereck Chisora’s level.”
The contest with Scott is scheduled for 10 rounds but Charles would be happy for Chisora to enjoy an early night’s work against the 32-year-old American.
He added: “We don’t get paid for overtime in this sport. If a stoppage is there, the fighter in the ring can see it in his opponent’s eyes.” — The Sun.
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