Dereck Chisora return, Gavin vs Vassell postponed until July 20

Dereck Chisora won't make his return on June 15, and he certainly won't be facing Deontay Wilder, as the card has been pushed back until July 20 while promoter Frank Warren tries to find an opponent for the controversial heavyweight. That means that the British and Commonwealth welterweight title unification bout between Frankie Gavin and Denton Vassell has also been postponed.

Warren says in a statement that he had been assured by his matchmaker Dean Powell and Golden Boy matchmaker Eric Gomez that Wilder was good to go for a Chisora fight, which is why he made the announcement in the first place. He says that Wilder's recent arrest in Las Vegas is the reason the fight isn't happening:

It was only after the press conference that we received an email from Mr Gomez saying: "I got a call from Deontay's attorney, there is [sic] some legal issues with travelling to the UK because of the arrest for battery. This is going to be a problem." We do not know when the attorney called Eric Gomez and, if before the press conference, why he did not tell us about this sooner.

I have therefore had to cancel the fight and postpone the show scheduled for 15 June. However, despite Mr Wilder's allegations, this is solely because Mr Wilder has been arrested and cannot now meet his commitment to fight Dereck Chisora.

There have been a number of websites which have reported Mr Wilder's comments and my lawyers will be raising complaints with them separately. However, I wish to make it clear at this stage, so that it is beyond doubt, that it was only after the announcement for the fight that Mr Wilder's representatives informed me that he could not travel to London to fight Dereck Chisora.

There were no indications publicly from Golden Boy that Chisora-Wilder was actually happening, and CEO Richard Schaefer outright denied that the fight would be taking place. This is a he-said, they-said situation for everyone except the handful of people who actually know: Warren, Powell, Gomez, Wilder's team, Schaefer, etc.

Terence Dooley reports that Warren has three names in mind to face Chisora on July 20: Tyson Fury, Manuel Charr, and Fres Oquendo, those names getting less interesting by the step. Fury beat Chisora soundly in 2010, but a rematch wouldn't be the worst thing for the big guy, and their press conferences now might be utter chaos. Actually, Chisora-Charr could have some remarkable trash talk, too. Oquendo is a veteran fighter who would be the major underdog, might actually wind up deserving a decision, and wouldn't get it, because he never does.