?Johnson?s done shit all the way through, I?m falling asleep over there,? Fury advised British television between rounds. ?These two are useless??
Involuntary inactivity reveals the work ethic of a fighter. When Tyson Fury?s scheduled fight with David Haye fell through late last year it meant that the Manchester giant was condemned to ten months without an engagement. It has been some time since Fury supposedly placed his diet under control and put behind him the sweet-tooth that saw him scrape 270 lbs., far too much weight for a fighter of even his imposing 6?9 frame. It was a shame then if not a complete surprise when Fury scraped the heights once more, this time weighing in, fully clothed, at 274 lbs. For American heavyweight Joey Abell, 241 lbs, this represented a chance, a meaningful chance, albeit for a fighter who is in no way used to boxing the distance and winning. Abell is a journeyman and his specialty is coming out fast and knocking out overwhelmed opponents in fights scheduled for the shorter distance ? he spends his money fast on what it is he needs, and if there isn?t enough in the bank to pay the bills when the bell tolls, he takes the loss.
How then, to best take advantage of this undertrained, out of shape opponent?
First to the Copper Box Arena ring he was indifferently welcomed by the London crowd that then rose as one to welcome Fury who is ranked all the way up at #4 by The Transnational Boxing Board. Fury has had the fight-week from hell. In the immediate build up he has suffered a cut in sparring, Eddie Chambers catching the fully protected Fury below the headguard and opening up a nick and surrounding contusion; his wife has been rushed to hospital for an emergency procedure, but is believed to be well; two cars which were parked in his drive were damaged, entirely burnt out according to some sources ? and he has somehow become saddled with Abell, an experienced southpaw puncher standing 6?4 as an opponent.
The extra weight made Fury look more like a nightmare doorman than a professional athlete but the bulk in combination with the height made the focused Abell seem absolutely dwarfed in comparison during the staredown, although when Fury came out and stooped into a jab to body and head the two looked like they belonged in the same weight division despite the enormous difference in poundage.
Fury dominated the first with that jab, but Abell did not appear to be intimidated and twice landed that southpaw left, forcing the bigger man into a disorganized retreat. Abell managed three punches of any meaning in the second, all birthed by Fury mistakes. The big man came square on two occasions and stooped all the way in behind a jab to ship another hurtful shot, all of them trailing left hands, the first of which especially seemed to trouble the Brit. For the American, the big problem was becoming the Fury jab, a fine punch that found the target repeatedly and far from Abell?s range. Still, there was a sense that although he had won the first two rounds an edge remained that made Fury seem somehow vulnerable to the trailing hand, which the American landed several times even as Fury began to drop bodyshots on his shorter foe.
A low blow landed after the order to break at the half way point of the third round drew Fury a warning but there was nothing wrong with the punch he landed forty seconds later, dropping his opponent with a right which I thought, momentarily, had finished the fight, although Abell came back swinging. They traded hard right hands at the bell and the American once again took the knee behind a punch more cuffing and less excellent than the first. With the fight scheduled for ten rounds, Abell was already perilously close to needing a knockdown at the beginning of the fourth ? and he reacted accordingly, hurting Fury with a right hand only to be caught himself in a flurried, dangerous exchange that favored the bigger man. Abell showed heart off the canvas, but when he was dropped for the fourth time the referee waved it off. Fury (now 22-0), wild, disorganized and certainly not at his best was nevertheless in a hurtful mood. I had sympathy with the stoppage.
His performance, a mixture of indiscipline, power and technical acumen makes him a fascinating watch and as always he complimented that performance with a fascinating interview. Labelling Wladimir Klitschko a ?pussy? who is ?avoiding him? he also dubbed Dereck Chisora a ?loser? who was ?not on his level.?
And so to the ?loser? who was next to the ring. Chisora (238 lbs.) would be a lock as Fury?s next opponent and although ranked lower at #9, he headlined the Copper Box show tonight against Kevin Johnson (240 lbs.), a fighter of bemusing, almost inexplicable self-confidence who is 1-2 in his last three but nevertheless has mixed in high company, taking no less a figure than Vitali Klitschko the distance in 2009 and Tyson Fury the full twelve in 2012. Predicting a seventh round stoppage against the reigning European champion, a man apparently in the form of his life seemed brash, but gave hope that we might see another entertaining heavyweight contest.
Aggressive early, Chisora was able to close the distance and spent much of the round on the inside after Johnson started brightly with that rangy jab and I thought the Englishman was able to steal the round despite the fact that he was outlanded by the Johnson left. The right hand was the key in that first round and it was the impressive looking shot he landed early in the second, although it was in fact something of a winging shot and Johnson took it well. A second at 1:42 remaining gave fresh impetus to his pressure and when a third right went across at 1:19 Johnson looked momentarily troubled. Johnson?s chin, tried and tested seemed equal to these punches, so Johnson?s intrinsic laziness would become the crucial factor, and the question as to whether or not Chisora?s stamina was equal to outworking him in each round the only one posed as far as the balance of the fight was concerned.
A very close, very bland third followed, edged by Chisora due more to Johnson?s inability or unwillingness to punch rather than any excellence on his part, whilst an intriguing fourth was conducted mostly at range, Johnson moving backwards and establishing his jab whilst Chisora walked him down, eventually trapping him on the ropes and sustaining a power-punching attack that clearly bought him the round.
The fifth carried on in a similar vein until, almost from nowhere, Johnson was dropped by a hard overhand right-hand that caught Johnson off balance and high on the head, a punch that was full of torque but that the Chisora did not get turned all the way through. My sense was that Johnson was embarrassed as much as hurt but he did not have the appearance of a man who wanted to fight when he gained his feet, complaining to the referee about real or imagined fouls throughout the thirty seconds that remained. Chisora looked grim, focused; but he began the sixth on the back foot, covering up, inviting Johnson to jab. A minute later he was inside and volleying from a square stance with both hands and good speed. Johnson began to look sad-faced as Chisora marched him down, and was offering little more than token resistance before covering up and riding the offense of his apparently totally dominant opponent.
Chisora hustled and body-punched his way to both the seventh and eighth whilst Johnson answered with the occasionally body-blow of his own, meanwhile complaining bitterly to the referee about the admittedly ragged right-hands that occasionally strayed to the back of the head.
More bodypunches made it appear that Johnson, by now in need of a knockout, was ready to commit himself to the attack at the opening of the ninth but the fight had soon drifted back to its hustle-defend pattern, Chisora doing mediocre work with little or nothing coming the other way.
Despite his domination, Chisora seemed to lag a bit in this round and it was his defense that suffered as he became more static and less mobile, but whilst he arguably won the round, Johnson basically refused to respond, although he boxed brightly in the tenth and arguably won it. A flush left hook and right hand introduced a much-needed sense of danger in the eleventh but the fight, basically, was now in rinse-and-repeat mode.
?Johnson?s done shit all the way through, I?m falling asleep over there,? Tyson Fury advised British television between rounds. ?These two are useless.?
It was a harsh indictment, but the Chisora performance was certainly workmanlike rather than thrilling. He worked his way earnestly through the twelfth whilst Johnson tossed out the occasional uppercut or right-hand in what appeared a half-hearted attempt to win the fight by knockout before retreating again to his shell, although he did manage to perch his man on the ropes and hurt him with punches in a fleeting moment of brilliance from the American. It reminded me that Johnson does indeed have skill and that he is a difficult, difficult man to look good against, but this will have won Chisora few fans. On the other hand, he?s had a very decent workout whilst Fury has engaged in the random madness that somehow defines him and dragged his 275 lbs. back to the gym no better off than when his night began.
TKO4 and a clear UD (118-109, 118-110, 118-109) are the results these two have earned themselves tonight, pretty much what would have been expected from each man, a summer shootout between them now all but guaranteed.
As rematches go, it?s a valid one, and somehow it has become a second crossroads fight for each once again, with the winner to be matched, almost certainly, with Wladimir Klitschko whilst the loser will drop back do European level.
Right now my money is on Fury ? but I?ll wait for the weigh-in before I lay any money.
