The long-tenured trainer of British heavyweight Dereck Chisora has admitted his fighter is still struggling to come to terms with his brutal KO loss to Dillian Whyte at the O2 in December.

‘Del Boy’ looked in good shape as the bout entered its final rounds and had earned a lead over Whyte on two of the judges' scorecards.

Chisora was deducted a second point in the beginning stages of the 11th round by referee Marcus McDonnell, and just moments later the bout concluded in spectacular fashion, as the 35-year-old was caught by a thunderous left hook which left him motionless on the canvas.

After undergoing a variety of medical checks, Chisora met with his trainer Don Charles and put to bed any rumours that the veteran heavyweight was on the verge of announcing his retirement from the sport.

“One thing that’s been ascertained, is Dereck Chisora is not retiring, he wants to fight on,” Charles told Sky Sports.

“He’s a very proud man and obviously if he said he wasn’t hurting, that would be a lie. I know my boy really well, it’s hurting. He’s putting a brave face on.

“The same way as a coach, I’m hurting, but I have to put a brave face on publicly. It hurts, but we’ve been here before.

“We will repair. He will repair and he’ll be back, especially now with the inclusion of David Haye, the new regime, the discipline that David has brought into Chisora’s life. If he can build on this, then I think Dereck Chisora is a force to be reckoned with within this current market.”

Charles also questioned referee Marcus McDonnell on a number of decisions which he felt left his fighter ‘panicked.’

“Mr McDonnell is a strong, form and fair referee,” Charles said.

“I really hate complaining, a poor excuse, we should have kept our discipline, but the referee panicked my fighter, in my opinion.

“He panicked Dereck, because Dereck was paranoid going into that fight, based on the last fight with Dillian Whyte, which we felt we won, and Derek complained about it.

“On the night, yes the first point, yes 100 per cent my boy shouldn’t use his head. He got a point deducted. That was warranted.

“The second one is questionable, because Dillian was leaning on him at the time. He raised his elbow, yes he did, but he didn’t hit Dillian Whyte with it. It was almost like ‘get off me’.”

Carlos Takam was quick to call for a rematch with Chisora, who dramatically knocked out the Cameroonian last Summer on the Whyte-Parker undercard.

The British brawler was forced to soak up heavy combination shots for most of the bout, but then unleashed a destructive right hook which floored Takam and gave the 35-year-old the opening he needed to end the fight.

The France-based warrior rose to his feet bravely and attempted to continue but was immediately met by a huge overhand blow to the head which put the 37-year-old back on the canvas. The referee, Howard Foster, then waved the contest off without a count, sending the 20,000 strong crowd into a state of ecstasy.

Takam returned to defeat German heavyweight Senad Gashi via technical knockout in the 7th round on the Whyte vs Chisora 2 undercard in December.

“I’m sure Takam would call Dereck out, that’s what fighters do,” Charles continued.

“It’s almost like he was saying, ‘I was beating you until you knocked me out.’ We would say the same thing about Dillian Whyte.

“We have to be smart here. It’s not about being macho. Takam has got every right to call us out, but I don’t believe that should be my guy’s next fight, the same way Takam has come back and had a win.

“We should be allowed to do such a thing. Who that opponent will be, I don’t know, because I’m not his manager. It’s something I have to discuss with David Haye and Eddie Hearn obviously.”