British heavyweight Dereck Chisora gets his chance at the WBC heavyweight title when he faces Vitali Klitschko in Munich, Germany on Saturday.
Although it seems that many fans are writing off the man that is affectionately known as ‘Del Boy’ in England, Chisora may bring with him a challenge and type of hunger that Klitschko hasn’t faced in a long time, perhaps not since facing Chris Arreola in 2009.
Klitschko, now 40, first one the WBC title when he faced Corrie Sanders in 2004. The title was vacated by Lennox Lewis, who retired from the sport in 2004. Klitschko beat Sanders by way of TKO in eight rounds. His first defense was against British challenger, Danny Williams who was coming off a shock victory over the faded Mike Tyson, but Williams was no match for the 6’7 Klitschko, who pulverized him into submission for nearly twenty four minutes, leaving the face of Williams battered and bruised in one of the worst beatings seen in the ring for some time up until that point.
Klitschko’s reign was cut short when he retired in November 2005, citing injury in sparring in preparation to face Hasim Rahman as the cause. Klitschko issued statements, voicing his desire to go into politics for his home country in the Ukraine, leaving much doubt in regards to his return to boxing. However, in January 2007, Vitali Klitschko told the media that he would be returning to the ring once again. He fought Samuel Peter in 2008. Peter had won the title when he beat Oleg Maskaev in March 2008, and unlike the back and forth thriller that Peter had with brother Wladimir Klitschko, Vitali had his own way with him and stopped him in eight rounds when Peter failed to come out for the ninth round.
Seven defenses leading up to 2011 followed, but the public and media were vocal about their displeasure at watching the giant clinically despatch his opponents. What didn’t and doesn’t help is that the heavyweight division does not have a so called “superstar.” David Haye came and went, failing to live up to his promises and the public’s expectations of destroying Wladimir Klitschko, losing on points, peforming below par and leaving thousands of Brits going home disappointed. But nevertheless, Vitali has been keeping active and it is not his or his brother’s fault that there are no challengers that pose a threat to their dominance. But is this really true?
Dereck Chisora, 28, was born in Zimbabwe but grew up in London. He first made his professional debut in February, 2007. His win over Sam Sexton in only his 5th pro bout got people noticing and he challenged Danny Williams for the British heavyweight title on the chief undercard contest to Kevin Mitchell’s fight with Australian banger, Michael Katsidis in 2010. Chisora made light work of Williams, knocking his man out in two rounds. He made one routine defense in a return bout with Sam Sexton before having to face the 6’9 Tyson Fury from Manchester at the Wembley arena in London. Chisora turned up at the weighin in less than optimum condition, making this writer believe that his mind was not on the job. This was further evident in the original press conference when Chisora’s mind looked as if it was elsewhere. Chisora seemingly gave up fighting Fury around the seventh round, only willingly taunting the bigger man and letting him have his way but not before shaking up Fury with massive hooks to the head early in the match that buzzed the crowd. Chisora lost unanimously rather widely on the scorecards but one victorious comeback fight against Remigijus Ziausys locked his shot against Finnish title contender, Robert Helenius.
The fight was staged in Helsinki, Finland, and the European, WBO and WBA intercontinental titles were on the line. Even though it seemed that Chisora, who whipped himself into shape on this occasion, had won the fight by utilizing educated pressure and clubbing the 6’6 Helenius with power shots, predictably the scores went the other way unanimously for Helenius and Chisora lost 115-113 on all three cards, sparking outrage, even in Helenius’s own country where the public were honest and humble enough to admit that they thought their man had been defeated. But this setback has only made Chisora more determined now that he has been granted his once in a lifetime opportunity to become heavyweight champion.
Where he looked and acted disinterested in the buildup to his British title defense against Tyson Fury, Chisora has shown passion and much enthusiasm to not only beat Klitschko, but also to try and be the first man to legitimately stop him. Klitschko’s only stoppage defeat was against Chris Byrd in 2000 when he suffered a shoulder injury and had to pull out of the bout after the ninth round but has proven that that his chin contains just as much “iron” as his fists, and Chisora would have to be at the very top of his game to just defeat the Ukrainian champion, let alone knock him out.
Still, Klitschko has to slow down at some point and at the age of 40, could this coming Saturday night be that time for him? Chisora has decent head movement, something a fighter needs to offset that ramrod jab of Klitschko’s. Vitali has stated a number of times that he needs somebody to challenge him, and one has to wonder if he has selected Chisora because he is not one in the long list of heavyweights who are only offensively minded, but also defensively. I attended Dereck Chisora’s gym in Finchley a few weeks back and he was looking in already better shape than when he faced Fury last year and I can only imagine that he is in even better shape now, so it’s hard to believe that he will let this opportunity go to waste when his moment of truth arrives. But when he observes Vitali standing across from him in the ring, how will Chisora react? Will he lose his nerve? Or will already having faced tall fighters before only make him shrug his shoulders?
Realistically, I think Dereck Chisora wil give it all he has got against Vitali and will come up short but not before giving the taller man problems with his head movement. Chisora may even land a few bombs, but I fail to see how they will have any effect on the champion, who has been in there with the best of them including former undisputed heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis. If any boxer makes the contest entertaining, then it will be because of Chisora. We all know that Klitschko only fights one way, using his jab and mobility to keep out of the way of his opponent’s shots while at the same time wearing them down to an eventual late round stoppage. It’s hard to envision anything different on Saturday with the exception of the early rounds when Chisora may have some early success.
By the end of Saturday night, Vitali Klitschko should still remain champion along with his brother but Dereck Chisora will go home knowing that he had been in there with one of the best and will have some good stories to tell his grand children in the days that await him.
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