Tyson Fury – Dereck Chisora: Does this Heavyweight Fight Even Matter?

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By “Big” Bill Bradshaw

I recently saw a poll offering Wladimir Klitschko, Sergey Kovalev and Manny Pacquiao as the choices for fighter of the month for November 2014. Considering their most recent outings, it seemed a fair selection to choose from. Some would claim that such a poll is ever so slightly premature when you consider that the Tyson Fury Vs Dereck Chisora rematch takes place in London on Saturday night and others would suggest that Billy Jo Saunders vs Chris Eubank, JR. is the highlight, not only of the Docklands bill, but of the entire month. Certainly, the support bout is a competitive one and it’s hard to remember when a British Middleweight title fight was as eagerly anticipated. I will offer my opinion on that later. For now, I’d like to concentrate on the main event. I’m sure many of you are tired of reading opinions and insights so I wish only to look at the actual relevance of the fight.

Tyson Fury and Dereck ‘Del Boy’ Chisora last fought for the British Heavyweight title in July of 2011. Both men were unbeaten at the time but Chisora bulked up ridiculously to compensate for his physical inferiority and it was a bad strategy. The fight was a dull affair that only highlighted the weaknesses of both men. Fury won…so what. This bout, however, will demand considerably more of both men. For Chisora, it’s a last chance saloon, having lost 4 out of 5 fights between 2011 and 2012. I thought he was unlucky not to have beaten Robert Helenius, I certainly gave him the decision, and he put in a gallant performance against Vitali Klitschko, at least in the ring.

What happened outside the ropes on that occasion was outrageous, almost as outrageous as what transpired around his next bout with David Haye. I’m no fan of Haye but I was happy to see him pick Chisora apart. Several non eventful fights later and he now faces Fury in a fight that could spell the end of a largely mixed career. He is in great shape and speed won’t be a problem. Should he win, his team will no doubt make a case for a title crack, should he lose he has no place left to go. Perhaps he would be a stepping stone for the up and coming Anthony Joshua.

For Fury, this is a nothing but a money fight. Anything other than win by KO would be a bad nights work. As there is some interest stateside on this bout, he must take the opportunity to do what Klitschko did against Pulev and really stake his claim as a world class pugilist. When you strip away the hype surrounding the wonderfully erratic Fury, you find that he‘s made his way into contention with a string of second rate fights against the likes of Joey Abell, Martin Rogan, Kevin Johnson, Vinny Maddalone and a half decent performance against blown up cruiserweight Steve Cunningham in which Fury was felled like a tree in the second round. To his credit, he went on to a messy win but the train chugged on. A win on Saturday night, a good win, will see Fury face Klitschko in 2015.

I don’t think I’m divulging a well guarded secret when I say that the heavyweight division is in a bad way these days. Klitschko vs Pulev had the potential to be interesting until Wladimir decided he fancied a coffee and he creamed Pulev in truly explosive style. He looked unbeatable and, like him or not, Klitschko would have proved a formidable force in any era. Deontay Wilder and Bermaine Stiverne will go toe to toe to establish ‘the best of the rest’ on January 17th. I like Stiverne and I was telling people about him a few years back. That said, we really don’t know what Wilder has to offer. I liked the guy when he first exploded onto the scene but I find it most suspect that, facing into bout number 33, he has fought only bums and has-beens. Stiverne has mixed it with Arreola twice, Bryant Jennings has fought Artur Szpilka and Mike Perez, Perez fought Abdusalamov in a bout that, tragically, may have derailed his career but all of these guys laid it on the line when it counted. I have difficulty with Wilder getting a shot when he hasn’t earned it yet but, should he do a number on Stiverne, boxing may have a new hero. Would he take Klitschko, would the winner of Fury Vs Chisora take Klitschko, would Bryant Jennings take Klitschko…absolutely not.

In summing up, Saturday nights bout could be a bit of fun but it means nothing to the bigger picture. I think Fury will take Chisora out of there late into an ill tempered and messy bout. On the undercard, I hope Saunders can do it, I’m not sure if boxing needs another obnoxious addition and Eubank, JR.is just that. But the kid can bang and there may be an upset on the cards in this one. I’m going for Eubank, JR. within 6 rounds.

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