In what might amount to an unofficial eliminator for a world title shot, British heavies Derek Chisora (14-0, 9KOs) and Tyson Fury (14-0, 10KOs) lock horns tonight at Wembley Arena in London with the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles on the line.
Of the two Chisora has probably faced marginally more difficult opposition and comes in as a slight favorite, although there isn’t much in it and neither has faced anyone much above domestic level.
Edges in power, reach and punch resistance go to Fury, movement, speed and defense to Chisora, who has a decent chin of his own.
Stamina remains an issue for both and as yet neither have boxed for a full 12 rounds, Fury having gone ten in his first bout with John McDermott and Chisora nine in his second bout with Sam Sexton.
Should the bout go past the first half then it isn’t inconceivable that conditioning rather than anything else will likely be the deciding factor.
Although both walked through journeymen early on in their careers, bouts with the best of the rest at domestic level provided only late stoppages for either. Against each other, both now a step above any competition either has faced in the past, a stoppage at all is far from a certainty.
Early on Fury’s reach and jab figure to make Chisora move and avoid more than he might be used to, possibly exerting himself more in the process.
Chisora meanwhile will look to get past Fury’s jab and land heavy shots, trying to end the fight as quickly as he can.
With that in mind, Chisora would probably have been best served to come in lighter than usual to allow him a little more mobility should the fight last longer than he’s hoping.
Evidently that wasn’t something Chisora planned for.
Chisora weighed in yesterday at 261lbs, Fury at 255lbs.
Not a huge difference until you also factor in the height differences. Fury stands at 6,9. Chisora at 6,1?.
Unless the fight ends early, Chisora could find himself struggling to keep up in the later rounds.
Although a very slight underdog, Fury looks the safer pick given that both also have decent chins and aren’t likely to be finished early. He also looked to be the right weight and in better shape than usual, while Chisora has clearly planned for a short fight.
The Pick: Fury via late stoppage
The bigger implication of Fury and Chisora’s clash is that Wladimir Klitschko has mentioned that he will likely give the winner a shot at his no less than four world titles.
In several recent interviews when asked about the possibility of fighting Wladimir should be get past Chisora, Manchester based Fury has rightly answered that he feels he needs more seasoning before making the jump from domestic level to world level.
At 23, with a current record of 14-0 (10KOs), more experience is obviously a good idea, especially given that he has yet to even face the kind of competition that Klitschko mops the floor every few months with in front of thousands of German fans.
Chisora, who was twice scheduled to face the Ukrainian before injuries scuppered his plans, intends to face Wladimir immediately should be beat Fury, despite his similar glaring lack of experience.
Both rubbished David Haye’s woeful effort against Wladimir, caused allegedly by a broken toe.
When the best that opponents can offer is that they will go out on their shield rather than avoiding either Klitschko all twelve rounds however, it’s hardly wonder than U.S fight fans failed to warm to the stoic duo.
Simon Bauer, Pitt: “Wlad wouldn’t even break a sweat against either of these two, I guess they sell better than any American heavyweights at the moment though”
