Dereck Chisora vs. Tyson Fury Could be in the Works:
Dereck ‘Del Boy’ Chisora may be no angel but it would take a more heartless man than me not to feel some sympathy after he was shafted for a second time by Wladimir Klitschko. Against the backdrop of yo-yoing negotiations with WBA champion David Haye, Klitschko pulled out of the December fight with Chisora citing an abdominal injury, only to rearrange it for April and then swiftly cancel it again. Absolutely nobody was surprised when Klitschko and Haye announced their mega-fight soon after. You can’t help but think poor old Del Boy would, cap-in-hand, sign for a third fight if it was offered, but the chances of that are now more unlikely than the announcement of the original fight. Chisora doesn’t strike me as the type of man to mope, but if he is, he can console himself with the fact that this whole sorry saga has, at the very least, increased his exposure. Furthermore, there are other opportunities out there that don’t carry the same risk to his health as a ram-rod jab from Klitschko.
For starters, there is the mandatory defense of his British heavyweight title against Manchester gypsy Tyson Fury. In the run up to the Klitschko fight, Chisora gave the impression that this fight was about as appealing to him as the concept of losing is to Charlie Sheen but circumstances have changed and the fact that it has gone to purse bids for a bout no later than July, may not be so unwelcome after all.
The Fury bandwagon has been gathering momentum of late. Not only did he appear in a photo with Wladimir Klitschko, he has also been training with Kronk legend Manny Steward. It is no secret that Steward is one of the biggest mercenaries in boxing (if the money was right he would probably train me) but his credentials and ability cannot be questioned, so he has lent some legitimacy to the notion of Fury as a credible prospect.
It’s not inconceivable that a fight between Chisora and Fury could even take pride of place on one of Frank Warren’s ‘Magnificent 7’ style cards. Both boxers are brash, cocky and like to talk a lot of trash so they would have no difficulty selling it to the public. Stylistically, it also throws up several intriguing questions. There is the impression that Chisora is the tougher man but how would he negate the 8 inch difference in height? Has Steward’s tutelage elevated Fury’s jab closer to the level of Lewis and Klitschko or is it still the same noodle-jab that could not keep John McDermott off him? These two have looked no stranger to a pie in the past so whose stamina will hold up if the fight reached the later rounds? Can Fury deal with a volume puncher like Chisora swarming him all night? Can Chisora take a punch like the one Fury dished out to Marcelo Luiz Nascimento in his last bout?
So there is no shortage of intrigue and most British boxing fans would welcome it. Should Chisora come through it – and I have a sneaking suspicion he might – he could do worse then turn to Audley ‘A-force’ Harrison next. I know there is the school of thought that thinks Harrison should never be allowed near a boxing ring again, let alone make us pay for the privilege, but let’s not forget he is still a recognized name, an Olympic gold medalist and a former European champion. I accept he may have just have turned in possibly the worst performance in a heavyweight title fight ever, but if the PPV numbers proved anything, they proved the British public is still a sucker for Audley. And it’s not like we’re talking one of the Klitschko’s taking on Harrison, this is Chisora, so why the hell not?
With decent domestic options out there for Chisora, it may not be such a bad thing that the Klitschko fight fell through. Not least because he was nowhere near ready to take that kind of fight. As a 14 fight novice, Chisora is very green and would have been totally out of his depth. He is not a knock-out puncher, so the chances are that even with Klitschko’s questionable chin, he would have been unable to find a Hail Mary bomb to end the fight prematurely. His strength lies in fatiguing his opponents on the inside through a tireless work-rate before finishing them off when they begin to wilt, but Klitschko is an expert at utilizing his jab to keep his opponents at range and would not have given Chisora a sniff. The fight could have been embarrassingly one-sided.
Had such a beat-down occurred, Chisora’s reputation as a credible heavyweight prospect may have been tarnished. From a purely selfish point of view, I’m glad that he was unable to risk marginalization… the guy is pure comedy gold. He is eccentric, controversial and, at times, a borderline lunatic. Everything I look for in a boxer. Some of his quotes have been priceless:
“One day I woke up and I realized I was a fat kid — so I thought I would give boxing a go.”
“I wasn’t bothered when I found out the fight [with Klitschko] was off. I went out and had a burger.”
“Don’t let looks deceive you [just] because my body doesn’t tell you I’m fit.”
“[Manny Steward is] an Uncle Tom of the Klitschko brothers.”
And who can forget the time when he almost precipitated a mental breakdown in Carl Baker by planting passionate kiss on his lips in the stare-down?
The landscape of heavyweight boxing is changing. Regardless of the outcome between Haye and Klitschko, Haye says he is retiring at the end of the year (and he will look a real idiot if he doesn’t follow through), while the Klitschkos are not getting any younger, so it is possible that some of the belts will come in to play in the not-too-distant future. If Chisora beats names like Fury and Harrison, the exposure will help him become a recognized draw, so it’s not inconceivable he could get a genuine title shot in the future. I hope it happens because after the way Klitschko treated him, he really deserves it.
