Eddie Hearn would be happy if British heavyweight Derek Chisora walked away from the sport after the 34th win of a roller-coaster career.
Chisora was able to brush off a cut to his right eyebrow to beat fellow veteran Gerald Washington on points at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.
Dressed in head to toe in pink in a reference to Barbie and with his two daughters in attendance, Chisora was able to come through his 47th fight largely unscathed, but he will turn 40 in December.
Matchroom Sport chair Hearn, who has worked with the eccentric Zimbabwe-born entertainer for a number of years, remains reluctant to tell the boxer to call it quits.
But Hearn admitted: “I think it was a sluggish performance against a difficult style for him.
“The question is do I feel Derek Chisora should retire? I think it is disrespectful for me to voice too much of a opinion on that because he is someone who knows himself better than anybody.
“If I am being completely honest, if he phoned me up and said, ‘that’s it,’ I would be pleased because that is a good time to bow out after a victory.
“I don’t think he can win a fight at the top tier of the heavyweight division any more and I don’t want to see him get stopped in a fight, but at the same time I respect him. I like him a lot and it is up to him.
“For me, his best days are behind him and I think those around him will be a better judge than me, but if he steps away from the sport, I would also be happy that he has certainly done his service.
“When you love something like that, it consumes your life and you don’t want to walk away from it but obviously he is not performing at the level he once did.
“He is great value, a great man but at the same time I feel like it is a personal decision and I say it is none of my business, but I would be happy if he walked away.”
