British heavyweights Dereck Chisora and David Haye are poised to face-off in a July grudge match unlikely to be sanctioned by British boxing chiefs, it was confirmed Tuesday. Chisora was stripped of his license in March after an ugly press conference brawl with Haye following his unsuccessful heavyweight title bout against reigning world champion Vitali Klitschko the previous month. Haye does not hold a valid license to box in Britain after announcing his retirement last year. However, the former world champion is likely to face an uphill battle to regain his right to fight given the hardline stance by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBOC) against Chisora. But Chisora's promoter Frank Warren has confirmed that a fight against Haye would now go ahead at the home of West Ham football club in east London in July. Warren told the BBC that the fight would be licensed by the Luxembourg boxing association after Chisora's appeal against his suspension was put back until July. “The hearing was put back to July so Dereck will have effectively been out of the ring for six months and that equates, if he was a footballer, to being out of action for 24 matches,” Warren told BBC Radio Five Live. “He has lost half of his purse in sanctions and costs since the Klitschko fight. “He has no qualifications, the next thing for him to do would be to sign on (for state unemployment benefits). “He is not banned from boxing. The fight has been licensed by the governing body in Luxembourg, which has the same standards as the British Boxing Board of Control. “It is the biggest fight of the year and the fact of the matter is that the fight is legal, lawful and will go ahead.” Any fight involving Chisora and Haye is likely to be the biggest British heavyweight bout since Lennox Lewis fought Frank Bruno in 1993. Peterson fails test The long-awaited rematch between Lamont Peterson and British boxer Amir Khan has been thrown into doubt after the American failed a drug's test, a report said Tuesday. Peterson and Khan's May 19 bout in Las Vegas is now under a cloud after the WBA and IBF light-welterweight champion tested positive for synthetic testosterone on March 19, reports said. Both Khan and Peterson had agreed to random testing by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) ahead of the fight, which comes six months after their first meeting in December last year. Peterson's publicist Andre Johnson said in a statement to RingTV.com that the boxer's camp was mystified by the test results.
