After the long-awaited British blockbuster between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua burst, there is now a "Battle of Britain" that nobody was actually waiting for. Fury defends his WBC title against Derek Chisora. A four point check.
In boxing there is actually a ranking list for everything, a ranking, a top ten. It is not for nothing that Bert Sugar (legendary writer with hat and cigar, died 2012) and Teddy Atlas (legendary trainer) published a book entitled "The Ultimate Book of Boxing Lists". If there were the category "the most unnecessary boxing trilogies", the third duel between Tyson Fury and Derek Chisora would be a hot contender for first place.
The heavyweight story is rich in legendary three-parters: Muhammad Ali against Joe Frazier, Ali against Ken Norton, Floyd Patterson against Ingemar Johansson, Riddick Bowe against Evander Holyfield - great boxing cinema. Fury himself has had a series of fistfights in his career that many observers believe deserves the title "valuable": the fights against his archrival Deontay Wilder in 2018, 2020 and 2021. The third ring duet of the "Gypsy Kings" with Chisora will almost certainly not receive this award after December 3rd. Fury clearly won the first two fights against Chisora in 2011 and 2014. The world champion on paper is too strong, too big, too good for his now 38-year-old challenger, who has also lost three of his last five fights.
Despite these meager conditions, promoter Frank Warren and PR professional Fury managed to make the whole thing palatable to the Brit. 60,000 tickets have been sold. And this despite the fact that the fight takes place in the middle of the London winter. Inside the Tottenham Hotspur football stadium, a sports facility without a roof. Well, beer is known to warm you from the inside above a certain level. The analysis of Fury vs. Chisora III follows very soberly.
Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Oleksandr Usyk, plus Fury twice each, Kubrat Pulev, Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker: Chisora has fought many battles since his professional debut in 2007, most of which he lost. In between, the 1.87 meter package also celebrated some successes with a bang against weaker competition. Most recently, in July, Chisora beat the Bulgarian Pulev in a gripping battle in London's O2 Arena on points.
Fury has been in the ring as a prize fighter since 2009 and is undefeated in 33 fights. In the battle record of the 2.06 meter giant, the successes over the long-standing heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko and his archrival Wilder shine above all. However, Fury has had to master many tricky situations in his career and fight back several times after precipitation. In short: Both Fury and Chisora have experienced almost everything between the ropes. In terms of experience, there are no advantages for one corner or the other.
Fury has emphasized his transformation from boxer to puncher since working with Kronk coach Sugar Hill Steward. "I used to be a top boxer who boxed around in reverse with my lead hand. Now I'm his majesty's destroyer," said the "Gypsy King" at the first press conference before the December fight. However, Fury still masters the finer fist blade. He boxed out Dillian Whyte in April from a safe distance and with quick hands before discarding the "body snatcher" with an uppercut in round 6. A unique selling point of Fury in the heavyweight division: The champion can switch displays fluidly, confusing his opponents and hitting them from unexpected angles. Thanks to Fury's nimble avoidance movements, many of his opponents often only hit air.
Chisora only knows the forward gear in the ring. In the style of Joe Frazier, "War" marches incessantly towards the enemy. Chisora belongs to the "take two to give one" fighter type. That means: In order to shorten the distance to his often larger opponents and to dish it out himself, Chisora is never above putting the turnip out. Once within striking distance, he mainly abuses the opponent's body and tries his luck with wild haymakers.
In his autobiography "Behind the Mask" Fury raves about his extraordinary lung capacity. Despite his mass (around 120 kilos), Fury can accelerate and go the distance without noticeably collapsing. Even the old warhorse Chisora still manages the twelve rounds. In his last appearances, however, Chisora pumped in between - also because he always had to put up with a lot. In terms of stamina, Fury has the advantage, especially if he manages to hit Chisora early and take the wind out of his sails.
This marks Fury's tactics. The mind games of the "Gypsy King" are in vain against Chisora (who, according to his own statement, has a "black belt in madness"), Fury will therefore concentrate on his actual "business", which means: consistently exploiting the physical and boxing advantages . Fury's ring IQ is significantly higher than Chisora's. It can be assumed that the world champion lets his challenger (like Whyte recently) come and works from a distance with fast leading hands and combinations. Fury should also set well-placed counterattacks against the onrushing Chisora and then switch to attack mode himself. Fury's goal must be to unscrew the Chisora fighting machine (as in 2014) round by round until it no longer works. Chisora's 2Game plan is quickly explained: attack, attack, attack - and hope for a "lucky punch".
The betting houses on the island sent Chisora into the race as a 33:1 outsider after the fight was announced. As one-sided as Fury vs. Chisora III is on paper, part III will also run on December 3rd. Chisora still has the mentality of a warrior. But his recent fights - especially the attrition battles against Parker, Whyte and Pulev - have left their mark. Fury, who is vastly superior in boxing, will quickly figure out his challenger and will already be "so far" in the middle rounds. Prognosis: demolition victory Fury between rounds 5 and 8.
This text originally appeared in a slightly modified form in the November/December issue of the specialist magazine BOXSPORT
