Derek Chisora: Can he Upset Wladimir Klitschko?
By Damien Norman
On December 11th at SAP Arena, Mannheim Germany British Heavyweight Champion Derek Chisora takes on Wladimir Klitschko for the IBF, WBO and IBO Heavyweight titles.
For some this is merely another easy night for Wladimir against an opponent who, on the exception of Danny Williams has no significant victories on his record however count him out at your peril.
Chisora travels to Germany with an unbeaten record of 14 wins, 9 of these by KO which highlights the fact that he can indeed bang. The Finchley star has a great confidence and self belief about him and is by no means taking this fight to plug a gap. In his last fight he defended his British Heavyweight Title against Sam Sexton who previously in 2008 he defeated with a 6th round KO.
The feeling was that Sexton had come along way since that night and was going into this fight a much more complete boxer, however Chisora shined with a very impressive performance and eventually ended Sextons hopes with a 9th round TKO. It was this fight that was alleged to have been the catalyst to sealing the deal for the Klitschko fight.
Although Chisora’s 14 fight record in the main has been made up of journeymen he has had to come through two tough bouts with Sexton and let’s not forget he was the man responsible for sending Danny Williams into retirement, who everybody knows for knocking out Mike Tyson inside 4 rounds. For some, this might not be anywhere near enough to justify him getting this opportunity and/or giving him any realistic chance of causing an upset, but can you blame him for being confident?
Wladimir Klitschko, brother of Vitali is rated as number one in the world. He has a professional record of 55 wins and 3 defeats. Of his wins, 49 have been by KO with some impressive victims on the way. His last defeat came in 2004 against American Lamon Brewster by way of a 5th round knockout. Although 3 defeats in 55 fights is nothing short of remarkable this still shows that he can be beaten and furthermore, knocked out. You would have to say that both Wladmir and Vitali are coming to the end on what have been long, hard careers, and if anybody is going to beat them then it is likely to be now.
A lot of fighters are known for having a particular strength; a big punch or fast hands, but in this fight I believe it all goes out of the window. Chisora is known for being hard hitting, fast handed and having the ability to roughen up his opponents. Wladimir, for many years has appeared to be the master of the art being able to fight in pretty much any style and cope with whatever has been in front of him. Arguably his biggest defeat came against Lamon Brewster who
was a come forward type of fighter. He has similar traits to Derek Chisora if you examine the two and this can only be a positive thing for Team Chisora going into this fight. To be on the back foot and allow Klitschko to come forward, like a lot of fighters have done in the past would be fatal and if that were to happen you could only see one winner, but judging by Chisora’s previous fights you can expect him to be on Klitschkos toe and really try to get to him.
Frank Warren, who is Derek Chisora’s promoter made some interesting points on “Steve Bunce’s Boxing Hour” (A radio show in the UK) before this fight was officially announced. He mentioned that the thing that annoys many boxing fans is that most people do not know which Klitschko is which. I, to a point agree with this comment but wanted to find this for myself so instantly Googled “Klitschko.”
To my amazement I found a joint website for the two boxers. I was slightly disappointed with this, and it goes a long way in singing from the same hymn book as Mr. Warren. Imagine being a hardcore fan of one of the two brothers and not even having a separate website to deliver fan mail. I can totally understand the reasons behind the two not fighting each other and unlike many I actually like the fact that they help one another out by doing the corner work for each other in fights, but at the end of the day it is a professional sport and at the level they are at and the money they are making for each fight… in my opinion you would expect a bit more independency from them.
Up until David Haye defeated Nikolay Valuev and became WBA champion the Heavyweight division, at world level anyway has only been about two fighters; the Klitschkos. They have unified the division and whenever there was talk of anyone fighting for a Heavyweight title it was always in the same breath as their name. Whenever they had a title defence the talk was always about a ‘lesser’ opponent and for a long time up until Haye’s name was thrown into the ring a lot of boxing faithfuls were left wondering when the real test was actually going to come. The debate as to whether Haye has dodged them, they have dodged Haye or the fight has just genuinely not happened is very much ongoing and appears as though it may never get resolved.
With Haye facing a tough defence on November 13th against a dangerous Audley Harrison and now Wladimir Klitschko taking on Derek Chisora quite literally anything can happen. You would have to say that if it was Chisora in Haye’s position then the Klitschko fight would have definitely taken place by now and the matter would have been long resolved. If Harrison can somehow land that big left of his and derail Haye then his career could really fizzle into turmoil, and regardless of whether Chisora wins or loses against Wladmir he would have gained ultimate respect for taking him on, especially taking into account his so far short professional career which will leave Haye feeling pretty damn dour and springboard “Del Boy.”
Derek Chisora has a massive night ahead of him against one of the most dominant Heavyweights in history. This fight is going to fast, ferocious and most importantly I feel this is Wladimir Klitschkos biggest tough in a long time. I believe an upset is firmly on the cards and I urge everybody to tune in and catch this fight. As bonfire night is upon us, I anticipate real fireworks on the night so don’t miss out!