23.05.09 – by James Slater – Last night in London, on the Nathan Cleverly-Billy Boyle under-card, 25-year-old heavyweight prospect Derek Chisora of London met old foe Paul Butlin in a rematch scheduled for 8 rounds. The last time “Del Boy” and 33-year-old Leicester man Butlin met, Chisora won on points over four rounds in a bad tempered affair. Last night things really got out of hand.
Winning the fight well enough in the early rounds – with a good body attack, a nice right hand to the head and overall superior work-rate being his key weapons – Chisora, for some unknown reason, took it upon himself to sink his teeth into Butlin’s left ear in the 5th round! With his back to the ropes and the referee, Dave Parris, to his blind side, the unbeaten wannabe bit his opponent’s ear – not as severely as Tyson did when he lost his marbles against Holyfield back in 1997, but, hey, a bite’s a bite!
Butlin immediately pulled back and told the ref he’d been bitten. A brief time-out was called, but no point was taken from Chisora ( a later, hitting on the break infringement did cost Chisora a point – in the 6th round). Should he perhaps have been disqualified?
The fight continued, and Chisora had the upper hand all the way to the final bell; despite the 33-year-old showing real heart and a fine chin. “Del Boy” almost finished his man in the 7th, as he scored a knockdown with a barrage of head shots. Butlin held on after being given the count, though, and even found the energy to fire a few shots back.
Chisora landed another great right hand to the head in the 8th and last round, but once again Butlin was able to take his best punches without going. A decent enough battle, with the 25-year-old looking in good physical condition and showing bursts of genuine class, the fight was ruled as a clear win for Chisora – sole judge Parris giving him the nod by a score of 79-72. Now 10-0(5), Zimbabwe-born Chisora remains in line for a shot at British champion Danny Williams; with that on/off/back on fight pencilled back in for June. Butlin fell to 12-9(3).
But enough of that, what about the bite incident in the 5th round?
Interviewed post-fight, the winner point-blank denied ever biting Butlin, even though it was clear as day on the replay.
“I don’t know what happened, the guy complained a lot,” Chisora said when asked by SKY T.V’s Ed Robinson about the bite. “Did I bite him? That’s not me. I didn’t bite him.”
Flashing a mischievous smile as he denied the bite, Chisora showed no remorse whatsoever. Will he get off scot-free with what he did? And why did he do it?
Butlin was asked for his take on the foul.
“He bit me, I hope you can see it on the replay,” Butlin said. “I jumped a little bit, like Holyfield did against Tyson.”
When asked if Chisora should have been disqualified, Butlin gave his straight answer.
“Yeah,” he said. “Because if it was me I’d have been disqualified. But that’s boxing.”
Time will tell if the BBB of C will take any action against Chisora.