Fight fans roared their approval over the December 10 under-card at The Manchester Arena; both during the action that supported the headline act that saw Anthony Joshua blast out Eric Molina and afterwards. There have been no complaints about having parted with pay-per-view cash for the card, despite the disappointing (if predictable) headline fight.
The fan approval largely stemmed from the quite fantastic FOTY candidate that was the heavyweight war between bitter British rivals Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora. Indeed, this fight stole the show, leaving fans, pundits and experts alike breathless. The call for a rematch began almost immediately and promoter Eddie Hearn says it is definitely a possibility for next year – only this time, the fight will be deservedly elevated to headline status.
Chisora, who feels he was deserving of the 12-round decision last Saturday, wants the rematch, stating how Whyte has “nowhere to go.” While Whyte, who felt he won by a wider margin than how the three judges had it after the 12 sizzling rounds, says he is open to a return but is looking at “bigger fights.”
Hearn, speaking with Sky Sports, said the rematch would be big, selling out The O2 arena in London, possibly next May.
“I think it’s [the win] moved Whyte up the rankings, he’s number-6 now and I would try and make a final eliminator for him but a lot of people want to see the Chisora rematch,” Hearn said. “That’s an option but I think both of them should have a long rest so they’ll be able to fight again in May. I’d like to see the fight again but obviously Dillian wants to fight for world titles as well. But I like the Chisora rematch; it’s a big fight, a good fight for a Saturday Fight Night and I think it could sell out The O2. I’d quite like to see them get their own bill.”
The big question, or one of them, is, would the rematch go out on pay-per-vie or on regular Sky Sports? Hearn may well find even greater interest in the rematch when/if it is announced and decide to put the fight – with another quality under-card – on Box Office. Certainly, there would be plenty of fans willing to part with some cash to see such a great fight again. But how much has Chisora, aged 32 and having had a number of tough fights, got left? Did we see “Del Boy’s” last great effort last Saturday?
As special as the first encounter was, it is perhaps asking too much for the return to be as good. Still, nothing suggests a rematch would be a poor fight. These two dislike one another and as they showed, they can use their mutual contempt to spur them on to astonishing levels of violence. As brutal as the first fight was, a rematch could well finish off both men. The big payday they would receive for a return would be well earned and deserved.
Meanwhile, The BBB of C have ordered Whyte, the reigning British champ, to defend against Sam Sexton before the end of April. No disrespect to Sexton, but would fans be too interested in this fight? Maybe Whyte will vacate the British belt that was not on the line in the Chisora fight due to a certain incident with a table?