Dereck Chisora & the Heavyweight Meltdown
By Damien Norman
The heavyweight boxing division took a real plummet as two big fights were called off at the last minute. Dereck Chisora was left dumbfounded when Wladimir Klitschko pulled out of their Title clash that was set for December 11th with a reported back injury, and European Title Champion Alexander Dimitrenko also pulled out of his fight with Albert Sosnowski after reportedly collapsing in his dressing room after a food poison scare.
These were too massive fights and we were set to find out a lot about the current state of World Heavyweight Boxing.
Starting with Dereck Chisora’s gigantic task of taking on the mighty Wladimir Klitschko this was a fight that I was seriously looking forward to. Here in the UK, Chisora is regarded as one of the future stars of the heavyweight division and has impressed so far with an undefeated record with 14 wins and 9 KO’s. “Del Boy” defeated and ended the legend of Danny Williams to become the British Heavyweight Champ but the “Brixton Bomber” was way past his best and openly admitted it before the fight went ahead, so despite a wonderful name on his record it was certainly not a test for Chisora. He has two impressive victories over Sam Sexton also but aside from this he has not faced a World class operator and Klitschko would obviously have been his best opponent by far.
Leading up to the fight nobody gave Chisora a chance but that was until the UK press conference and the live work outs just days before fight night. Chisora appeared very confident and focused and looked like he really believed he was the man for the job. Klitschko appeared rumbled and did not like the warm reception that his fellow fans gave Chisora.
There has been so much speculation surrounding the Klitschko injury and medical professionals have stated that the injury described by Wladimir and his team would take much longer than 2 weeks to heal but more like months. A ‘2 inch tear’ to an abdominal muscle as they have described it usually takes a couple of months to heal and after that needs rehabilitation, so your looking at a good few months before your back to full fitness. People are starting to think that after getting close and personal to Chisora and seeing his confidence grow by the hour it may have been a mistake choosing him as an opponent, and to save jeopardizing a potential huge pay day in fighting David Haye he and his team decided the best option was to fake the injury. This definitely sounds like it could be the correct scenario and I have to say Wladimir did not look or sound too injured in any of the videos he spoke in after announcing the cancellation of the fight.
So was Klitschko right to be worried? Would Chisora of had a chance? I think yes is the answer to both of these.
Although as I have mentioned above Chisora has not had a test anything like Wladimir Klitschko he has lots of skill and speed for a Heavyweight. He moves well and punches with lots of power and if you take into account that Klitschko has been down 11 times as a professional you can see why this would be a cause for concern. Without a doubt Chisora would have been Klitschko’s toughest opponent for many years and it would have taken more than a rangy jab to put down and stop the Finchley star.
Rumor has it that on the same day that the fight was called off the potential showdown with David Haye was being negotiated. We have just heard from Frank Warren (Chisora’s promoter) that although Klitschko and his team have 30 days to give them a new date they are not under any obligation to do so and with that in mind, probably won’t.
I feel bitterly disappointed for Derek Chisora who in all of this has been the one left short changed. It was a massive opportunity for him to get worldwide exposure, a decent pay day and to shock the masses but it appears that he has been left out in the cold. If this is what has happened then Wladimir Klitschko has to lose a huge amount of respect in what is a really cowardly act. I personally believe Derek Chisora posses more strengths than David Haye as a Heavyweight and have much more chance of upsetting Wladimir but if you believe what you read then we will never find out.
Dereck Chisora is full of charisma and has a certain swag about his personality that makes you smile and admire him. Admittedly he has problems outside of the ring which could easily lose him credibility, if you brush this aside and judge him on his Boxing ability and character in a Heavyweight division that is largely devoid of them…you have to admire him!
It is hard to say what big “Del Boy” does next until we get confirmation that Klitschko really has dodged him, but assuming this is the case I think Chisora’s next move will probably be closer to home. As he is the current British and Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion he will be required to defend his titles and next in line for a shot at the British is loudmouthed Tyson Fury. This would be an excellent all-British clash and one I would love to see, and if Chisora was to take out the 6 feet 9 inch Fury there would be little else in the way to stop him getting at current British number one David Haye.
Now a look at the cancelled Dimitrenko-Sosnowski battle…
Poland’s Albert Sosnowski’s rise to fame started in 2008 in York Hall, Bethnall Green, London when the unknown man knocked out Danny Williams who was a couple of fights away from returning to World level. I was there that night and although Danny Williams received lots of stick about losing to a journeyman I knew from that night on that Sosnowski had a little something special.
After a draw with Francesco Pianeta, Sosnowski took on Paolo Vidoz for the vacant EBU Heavyweight Title, eventually winning a decision and capturing the Title. This brought Sosnowski even more publicity and his next stop was Vitali Klitschko for his WBC title. A gallant effort but Sosnowski came up short against the giant and was eventually halted by a 10th round KO. Although he lost he captured the imagination of a mass audience and has been recognized for his notable Boxing ability. A bread and butter 1st round KO victory over England’s Paul Butlin was his last outing but we was all desperately looking forward to seeing him take on the big German Alexander Dimitrenko.
Germany’s no.1 Dimitrenko who stands at 6’7 has 30 wins with just one loss (Eddie Chambers) and is highly regarded at World level. His last fight was for the vacant European Heavyweight Title against Yaroslav Zavorotnyy in which he won with a 5th round TKO.
The Sosnowski clash was expected to be a big fight but would Sosnowski have been able to handle Dimitrenko’s height and power? With a massive reach advantage it would have been a real task for the gutsy and determined Polish star that fell at the hands of Vitali Klitschko earlier this year. The fight could still happen and there is definitely no controversy over Dimitrenko pulling out of it after collapsing in his dressing room with suspected food poisoning… shoot the chef though!
What was set to be a big month of Boxing to add the glisten to Christmas has ended up being a controversial joke quite frankly but with these postponements it will only mean more Boxing for the early start to next year.