By Phenyo Molefe: Dereck Chisora’s last fight came against the celebrated and highly regarded WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko who is in no need of an introduction; his conquests extend beyond what my words can afford him. That which was building up to be a fairly normal affair remains the most discussed, debated fight of the year which gave rise to the ”Upton Park Files”
Chisora remains tormented by an ever present cloak of controversy which traces his moves in all aspects of his conduct around boxing. I will be one of the first to admit, this man is no angel but one thing is evident in this young charge, is his fearless nature; which I believe sometimes gets him into trouble with those brash and ill-calculated outbursts.
The antics begun before the fight, he slapped Vitali Klitschko at the weigh-in, stunning the champion and onlookers alike. Later cementing his frustrations by showering Wladimir with water before the bout kicked off. He used the post fight press conference to attempt to describe the fuels which led him to slap Vitali; but there was simply no way to justify those actions. He should have dealt with the disappointments with Wladimir’s continuous postponements and cancelations in another manner and not what we bore witness to. I am in favour of charged build ups but that slap was uncalled for and he deserved to be punished for that and as he too will be quick to admit it.
I am not here to defend Chisora or his actions, however I would caution against the tide that followed the brawl. I cannot claim to understand the reason behind his actions surrounding this fight; however I can only speculate that he was trying his uttermost to build an advantage by unsettling his opponent. He did try, far more than any other recent opponent of recent years has done before, but Vitali was largely unmoved by the antics displayed. I can only imagine it must have been Chisora‘s underlying hope that Vitali would fight in unrestrained fashion and thus unveil opportunities to maul him.
I hope that we have not temporarily forgotten that boxing’s lights are more than what may take place within the sacred squared ring; it builds before such execution takes place. Everyone knows the training regimen is more or less the same now as it was yesteryear. We want a story line to some of the madness and novelty that we see, fighters capable of making us switch allegiance and become pulverised by their stories and the characters displayed.
Love him if you please, hate him if you do. One thing is certain we will forever remember him for at least the next decade and some beyond. Some of us may even be tempted to celebrate some of his rather colourful antics. We have spent countless evenings praying for a saviour to inject some measure of life into the anaemic heavyweight division. We longed for a character with the abundance of substance to bring back passion into the sport we love.
In many folks eyes, Derek Chisora is no “superstar”; he does not possess the polished looks nor the most envied technical abilities which have defined some of history‘s golden names. Shy away from further error for Chisora is a warrior who posses far more courage and a willingness to bring forth his articulated prophecies to human form. It makes up for areas where he may be found lacking and draws support from various contingents, which have defined his brawling style.
Chisora displayed a tremendous degree of effort in his bout against Vitali grinding forward, never changing his propelled momentum. He consumed considerable amounts of leather is his efforts, spewing blood with a smile, but that is greeted with little surprise. Vitali did throw bombs; however he found himself under pressure as he tried to contain the fevered locomotive before him as he too was forced to consume some of Chisora’s fire. Chisora forced the champion into a zone he has rarely visited in his career, leaving him seemingly uncomfortable at times. Revisit the twelfth round and you will see how Chisora charged Vitali setting him on the back foot. He seemed eager to fight on for another three rounds, hoping for further opportunity to bring the champion down. I believe even behind clandestine veils, Haye’s trainer Adam Booth will admit the notable efforts Chisora brought forth that evening were far more valiant than what Haye presented last year.
He has lost all three of his last fights, but at 28 he remains one of boxing’s rising stars, Steward sees it, as does Roach and in honesty I think you do too. Having come into the Fury bout seemingly ill conditioned but still willing to engage, he regained favour in his bout against Helenius which most of us had him winning. He does not do tune up fights but comes in to fight all those before him champions or not, with the hopes of impressing his will upon them. He came in with all cards stacked against him and with good reason; he was coming up against one of thee most dominant heavyweights in history. In the aftermath of his loss, he gained even more momentum, his courage welcomed and brawling style refreshing in a division looking to regain further fortitude.