Stone me, Rodders, I've met my match!

IT may be long way from Peckham but the lovely jubbly Hampstead Garden Suburb has adopted its very own Del Boy.

 

Heavyweight boxer Derek Chisora is taking the sport by storm after winning his third professional fight on Saturday.

 

But the 23-year-old from Addison Way is getting just as much attention for his boxing nickname.

 

The 6ft 2ins bruiser is known as Del Boy, enters the ring to the Only Fools and Horses theme tune and is bidding to buy a Trotters Independent Traders Reliant Regal to drive around the Suburb.

 

On top of all that, his manager's name is Lawrence Rodney.

 

"I love the show - everyone does, what's not to like with it?" Mr Chisora said.

 

"I got the nickname from a guy who was writing about me as an amateur and it just went on from there. My job was buying and selling cars and I was a bit of an entrepreneur so it fits with that."

 

Mr Chisora trains in Finchley and is living with his mother in their Suburb home ''until he becomes a millionaire''.

 

And he is hoping that his persona will help him win over the fans. "They have really caught on to the Only Fools and Horses thing," he said. "In Liverpool and Manchester, they all sing along when I enter the ring.

 

"You listen to a tough song on your own when you are preparing for the fight - you don't need that when you come out into the ring. It brings a smile to everyone's faces and it makes them say 'who's that guy?'."

 

As David Jason's famous comedy character would say, 'he who dares wins' and Mr Chisora is hoping to become as big a boxing legend as Frank Bruno.

 

And he is far from looking like a plonker, having become the Amateur Boxing Association super heavyweight champion in 2005 and joining the stable of fighters run by Britain's biggest boxing promoter, Frank Warren.

 

In this third professional fight on Saturday, he beat Darren Morgan, which he hopes will trigger even more popularity.

 

He continued: "The guy was big, sent from hell, but I didn't find it a problem - all my Del Boy charm must have worked on him."

 

His manager Mr Rodney is also able to laugh about the Trotters comparison.

 

"He bid for the actual car they use in the show but it was too expensive," he said. "Ricky Hatton has one of them, so maybe he can give it to Derek when he wins the world championship.

 

"You don't get many heavyweight boxers in Hampstead Garden Suburb and we are hoping the community will back him.

 

"He's got loads of charisma and is just a big kid really - just like Del Boy.