He was trained at first by Michael Moorer then by Jeff Mayweather and now by Norman Wilson; his manager is the very powerful Scott Hirsch who recently netted his fighters Jameel McCline and Shannon Briggs Don King-arranged title fights.
His most notable opponents so far are Chicago-based Edward Gutierrez who was 15-0-1 coming into the bout, New York veteran John Carlo who possessed a 14–1 record, and fellow undefeated Mid-West prospect Matt Hicks 7–0.
His relationship with the very well connected Hirsch has netted him valuable exposure in the boxing press as a real heavyweight prospect.
Chapman obviously denies the claim[clarification needed] and states that the reality is that he rejected the $100,000 offer for the fight as being too low.
In addition, this was not a title fight, but David Haye was trying to add credibility to his bid to become a legitimate heavyweight.