Dereck Chisora was hit with a $50,000 fine for slapping WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko at Friday's weigh-in ahead of Saturday night's title fight in Munich.
WBC president Jose Sulaiman confirmed the scale of the punishment, while condemning the underdog challenger's actions in the strongest possible terms.
"This is definitely a lack of respect for the sport and completely unacceptable," Sulaiman told BoxingScene.com. "It was a cheap shot, and my message is that there is a fine, so [Chisora will] feel it."
The 28-year-old British boxer stoked the flames ahead of Saturday night's bout at the Olympiahalle, pawing the veteran Ukrainian with a hefty right hand as the two stared each other down in front of the media.
Klitschko, 40, appeared shocked at the cheap shot but refused to retaliate as his trainers advanced past him toward Chisora, whose lower face was masked by the UK's Union Flag.
Chisora, who has boasted that he will knock out the heavy favorite in the eighth round Saturday, was unrepentant and dismissed claims that he took an early swipe at his opponent to drum up more publicity, saying, "I ain't here to play games."
But his actions and attitude were enough for WBC chief Sulaiman to betray his supposed neutrality.
"[Chisora is] no gentleman at all, and he's failed in what we expect from boxers," he said. "He wanted Vitali to lose control, but Vitali will make him pay for this in the ring, definitely."
Klitschko, who has a career record of 43-2 with 40 knockouts and last lost in 2003, left the event with a red mark on the left side of his face and calmly promised to exact revenge. "I'll be hitting him back [Saturday] in the ring," he said.
Chisora, who sports a record of 15-2 having lost two of his past three fights, weighed in two pounds heavier at 243 pounds Friday.
The $50,000 fine will be divided equally between a children's charity in Germany and the WBC's own children's charity, BoxingScene.com reported.
