More Heavyweight (In)Action – Fury vs. Chisora II:
Word has it that British promoter Frank Warren would like to make Tyson Fury vs. Dereck Chisora II happen this year, and to make that fight into an elimination bout. The suggestion leaves many in boxing circles shaking their heads, and the only heavyweight fight more pointless than this one on the horizon is the ludicrous Bermane Stiverne vs. Chris Arreola II match for the vacant WBC title.
The main reason this fight makes so little sense is that Fury not only beat Chisora back in 2011, but came in flabby for that bout, and yet still beat Del Boy easily. Since then, in four big fights Chisora has won in only a single encounter (Malik Scott), with another ending in a controversial, disputed points loss (Robert Helenius), and two more in clear defeat (Vitali Klitschko and David Haye). Given that Chisora’s only clear victory was over Scott, and even that ended in controversy, it’s hard to see what he has done to have earned a rematch with his British rival, Fury.
For his part, Tyson Fury now occupies the #2 slot for the IBF belt. Since that belt adorns the waist of Wladimir Klitschko, obviously Fury needs to find something else to do. Even so, there simply must be better opponents out there for him than Chisora. Take Kubrat Pulev, for example… but oh wait, Fury ducked Pulev.
A Chisora rematch would merely be more wheel-spinning for Fury, who has more or less been spinning his wheels ever since beating Chisora in the first place. He needs to move on to a better-ranked opponent, not retread the past.
Rounding out the idiocy of this match-up is the notion that it could somehow be a title shot eliminator. I address this question to Frank Warren: an eliminator for whom? Except for Fury’s ranking with the IBF, neither Fury or Chisora are top-ranked by any major sanctioning body.
Given how WBC President for Life Jose Sulaiman just forcefully rejected Fury’s pretensions to their #2 ranking, it is unlikely that Warren will get what is most likely his ardent wish for a prospective Fury and Chisora rematch: a crack at what used to be Vitali Klitschko’s belt. Sadly, that is reserved for the aforementioned Stiverne vs. Arreola II.
