Derek Chisora stunned the boxing world on Tuesday by announcing he would be returning to the ring in December against Murat Gassiev.The WBA heavyweight champion was likely just as surprised as everyone else, as less than three hours earlier he had told talkSPORT.com that a fight with Chisora seemed unlikely.Gassiev didn’t know anything about a planned fight with Chisora hours before ‘Del Boy’ announced he would be fighting the Russian in DecemberGetty“I don’t know really,” said Gassiev when pressed on Tuesday morning about the possibility of him facing Chisora next.“I saw Derek a couple of times. I met him in Dubai after the [Kubrat] Pulev fight and in Moscow after the [Peter] Kadiru fight.“He is a great fighter, a little bit old, and he has a lot of very hard fights.“But he’s still very strong, both mentally and in his heart. “He has the heart of a warrior, and I have a lot of respect for him.“I don’t know if it is possible, as he is not in the WBA ratings right now, so maybe I don’t fight with Derek.“But everything changes very fast, and we need to be ready for anything.”The writing was perhaps on the wall when the recently retired Chisora stormed the ring to face off with Gassiev after his stoppage victory over short-notice replacement Peter Kadiru in July.Gassiev had often downplayed the possibility of boxing the 42-year-old British veteran, who lost to Deontay Wilder three months prior in what was supposed to be his ‘last dance’.Instead, Gassiev set his sights on Agit Kabayel in the weeks and months that followed his last outing.Chisora was supposed to hang up his gloves after his 50th pro fight against WilderGettyGassiev became the WBA’s sole heavyweight champion in June when Oleksandr Usyk vacated his three world titles, including the primary WBA ‘super’ belt. He then learnt via a report from Ring Magazine last week that his status would be superseded by the WBA’s decision to make Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua a ‘super’ title fight on December 11. He is now pushing for a shot against the winner of the Battle of Britain some time next year.Meanwhile, the Russian powerhouse has also been heavily linked with a fight against the WBA’s No.1 contender Jarrell Miller, who was leapfrogged by No.2-ranked Fury and No.3-rated Joshua as well.Other potential fights for Gassiev “A couple of weeks ago we started talking about my return to the ring,” added Gassiev.“I don’t know the date or my opponent. Maybe it will be Jarrell Miller or the winner of Joshua-Fury.Chisora claims he will box under the IBA in either London or ManchesterGetty“I just started training one month ago, little by little. I haven’t started a serious training camp, just a little bit of running, jump rope and some shadow boxing.“I am just preparing my body for hard work.”When would Gassiev be ready to fight?Asked whether he thinks he will be in a position to fight this year, Gassiev replied: “Why not? Maybe this year.“Maybe the last days of December, maybe December 15 or 16 because after that there are some big days, New Year’s and so on.“Maybe the end of the year, or maybe January or February. It doesn’t matter.”Watch Boxing on DAZN*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenueSign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.Click here to sign up.