Shortly before his big fight with Olkesandr Usyk, warrior Dereck Chisora said a defeat shouldn’t mean to much to a fighter; certainly, Chisora said, no fighter should be scared of defeat. What is it, Chisora asked, but a number at the end of your record? So now, after having given it his all – in training camp and then in the ring itself – what should Chisora do after seeing another digit added to his loss column?
Should any writer or fan even ask the question of whether or not a proud fighting man should call it a career and retire? What gives us this right? The question has been asked, though – as it was just hours (even mere minutes) after Chisora went down on points to Usyk in spite of his great, all-out effort. Ten losses are now there to be found on Chisora’s pro ledger. And for people impressed by big numbers, a look on BoxRec lets a fan know that Chisora has now been fighting at pro level for almost 14 years.
Chisora, 32-10(23) has been fighting longer than George Foreman boxed in his initial pro career (eight years), “War Chisora” has been fighting longer than Rocky Marciano fought for (also eight years), and the British fan-fave has been fighting longer than Gene Tunney fought (13 years). This may or may not put things into perspective. Is it time for Chisora to do the smart thing and hang ’em up?
Chisora has boxed a good number of long, hard and draining fights, too. Chisora has gone the full 12 rounds eight times and he has gone past the eighth round on no less than 14 occasions. There is no doubt Chisora has a lot of mileage on his clock. And the 36-year-old (37 in December) has faced almost nothing but top-class fighters. Among the elite Chisora has rumbled with: Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Tyson Fury (twice), Dillian Whyte (also twice), Robert Helenius, Kubrat Pulev, Oleksandr Usyk.
How much can Chisora – a man who has fought a staggering 268 rounds in the pro ring – possibly have left? Of course it’s up to Chisora and Chisora alone, and maybe this born fighter doesn’t wish to call it a day just yet. And one thing’s for sure, Chisora wil be missed when he’s gone. Certainly, no fight fan is wishing to see the back of the Londoner, apart from in terms of perhaps looking at things from a long-term health standpoint. We could all stand to see yet more action from Chisora, the former “Del Boy” being one of the most consistently entertaining heavyweights of recent years – but is it worth the risk? His risk?
Chisora has to make his own mind up. If he has finished, Chisora has some quite awesome roller-coaster ride of a pro career to look back on with immense pride and satisfaction. Basically, aside from become world champion (this of course the goal all fighters reach for), Chisora has done it all.
And when he is finally through fighting, Chisora would make a great boxing commentator. Nobody is more tell it like it is than this guy!