Saturday night at Wembley Arena in Wembley, England, Dereck ?Del Boy? Chisora (18-4, 11 KOs) won the vacant WBO International heavyweight title by stopping formerly unbeaten Malik Scott (35-1-1, 12 KOs) at 2:56 of round six.
The 29-year-old Chisora has made a name for himself less for his prowess in the ring than for his overall rowdiness. Rugged, crude, volatile and unpredictable, Del Boy, with his anger management classes behind him, tonight made us forget his checkered past.
Chisora was able to put it all together when he need to and caught the Philly fighter with an overhand right that dropped Scott to his knees. Perhaps because he was addled, Scott, with a quizzical smile, apparently misjudged the count. He failed to get to his feet by the count of 10 and referee Victor Loughlin waved it off.
?He hit me with a good shot,? admitted Scott after the fight. ?I gave myself an eight, got up at nine, and everywhere in America the count goes up to 10.?
Boxing wouldn?t be boxing without a little controversy, and where none exists some can always be created.
?Everyone knows I beat the count, but Dereck won a clear fair fight and we?re not going to turn this into something.?
Despite Scott?s previously pristine record, he, like another untested American heavyweight, Deontay Wilder, has been brought along slowly. He drew with Vyacheslav Glazkov (14-0) and defeated Bowie Tupou (22-1) in his last two fights, which were presumably adequate preparation for the foundering Chisora.
But Chisora, a late starter who had lost four of his last seven, was defeated by David Haye and Vitali Klitschko in 2012, and Robert Helenius and Tyson Fury in 2011. Del Boy was used to the big stage and ready to rumble. Malik Scott, by contrast, was ripe for the picking.
The lanky Philadelphian with the refined skills started strong. Working behind his jab, he glided around the ring, and whenever Del Boy got close Scott tied him up. But time, if not the odds, were on Chisora?s side, and Del Boy knew it.
?I thought if I catch him he?s going to go down,? said Chisora, ?and I caught him.?
Dereck ?Del Boy? Chisora is back, and back in a big way.
?I want the Klitschkos again,? he said. I want to go back to Germany. I have unfinished business.?
Chisora may want to go back to Germany, but whether Germany wants Chisora back remains to be seen.
