Dereck Chisora: 'I want to get back in the ring'

The London boxer Dereck Chisora has told London Tonight that he hopes to get back in the ring despite his current ban.

Chisora ended up in a brawl with the former world heavyweight champion, David Haye, during a press conference in Germany in February.

He was then suspended indefinitely by the World Boxing Council.

In his first interview since then, he told our Sports Reporter, Sally Williams, that he hopes to be back boxing again soon.

Here is a selection of extracts:

The following is Sally Williams' transcript of further extracts from the interview.

Dereck says he hopes to be fighting again soon and intends to go back into the gym:

"I can't fit in my old clothes so I have to go back in the gym."

"You're going to be fighting again?"

"I hope so."

"Even though you are banned?"

"I'm not banned... I'm not fit enough to hold a licence."

"But you've been banned"

"I'm not banned - I'm not fit enough to hold a licence. Banned means you've been banned. But when you're not fit enough that means you're not fit."

"Is that what you'd like above anything to get the licence back?"

"Yes. I'm a boxer, I'm a fighter. I love fighting. Someone takes something you love, how are you gonna survive and progress in your life? I wanna fight again."

"And who do you most want to fight?"

"I want to fight everybody..."

"Do you want to fight David Haye?"

"I want to fight everybody."

"Him in particular?"

"I want to fight Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Frank Bruno, Prince Naseem..."

"You had a great fight that night with Klitschko and everyone praised you for it... you didn't win but everyone praised you for it... and then the press conference afterwards all went a bit wrong. We haven't heard form you yet Dereck about what happened. What happened?"

"I put my dancing shoes on and started dancing..."

After a lot of to and fro-ing about dancing shoes I ask the following:

"There will be people out there Dereck out there who won't have much respect for you after the brawl that happened that night."

"Let me tell you something wherever I go I get respect. I was in Glasgow last night - everyone was coming up to me. Because I'm not a champion right now but I believe that I'm the right people's champion... people admire me. I can walk into someone's house and have a cup of tea no matter who I am. I don't judge myself as a celebrity, I don't judge myself as a top athlete. I judge myself as a normal human being. I don't walk around with my nose up."

We talk a lot about an apology and being an icon.

"My point is quite simple Dereck... this is your chance to talk about what happened that night and you've not really spoken about it."

"I apologise for putting my dancing shoes on and dancing the way I dance."

And finally... have you got anything else to say:

"Come May 5th watch "Money" Mayweather destroy Cotto... this is your boy Dereck Chisora."

Dereck Chisora is due to appeal the withdrawal of his boxing licence by the British Boxing Board of Control on May 14th.