Klitschko vs Chisora

KlitschkoChisora

18th February 2012|#klitschkochisora

The WBC World Heavyweight Championship

Chisora unable to deliver his promised 8th round KO on Klitschko, losing on points

What a night of action. After what looked like fairly amicable pre-match banter between Chisora and Klitschko - when Del Boy offered him a lift in his trademark Reliant Robin - the heat was really turned up when he offered his Ukrainian opponent a surprisingly firm slap in the face during the weigh-in the day before the fight.

Pre-fight Antics

Unfortunately this theme of unsportsmanlike behaviour continued when the Londoner sprayed water from his mouth into Wladimir Klitschko's face due to his anger at an earlier attempt to enter Chisora's dressing room to complain about his hand wraps. After a slight delay the fight began and the time came to find out if Chisora would prove himself to be too fast and unpredictable for Vitali, as he had earlier claimed.

The Fight

Unfortunately for the Briton, he was not able to deliver his promised 8th round knockout, although (in the ring at least) he certainly didn't embarrass himself. The reigning WBC Champ had the better of the fight in the early rounds, but Chisora surprised many as the rounds passed, moving forward well and forcing Klitschko to box on the back foot. The Finchley-based fighter landed a few good punches and, while many felt the Ukrainian did start to tire, he was always ahead on points according to the judges' scorecards. Chisora did manage to take the fight to the full 12 rounds - something only a few boxers have achieved. The judges gave it to Klitschko 118-110, 118-110, 119-111.

The Aftermath

Although we had hoped that the antics would then stop, there were still words being exchanged in the ring after a quick touching of the gloves from both boxers. Wladimir and Chisora were locked in debate about the water-spitting incident, and Frank Warren stepped in to take control of things. Chisora accepted that he had been beaten by a man with more experience, and Frank admitted that the British fighter's pre-match antics were indefensible. Sadly, this was not the end of the evening's drama.

The Press Conference

At the post-fight press conference, Bernd Boente (manager of the Klitschko brothers) agreed with Frank Warren that Chisora could fight David Haye (who was in the audience) to see who should get another shot at one of the Klitschko brothers. What followed was a war of words between David Haye and Chisora - who was repeatedly asking Haye how his toe was following the injury he claimed prevented him from beating Wladimir Klitschko last year.

It is reported that Haye threw a punch at Chisora and also got into a brawl with Don Charles, Chisora's trainer. Chisora was then heard shouting "I'm going to shoot you" - a comment which resulted in him being questioned by police a few hours later. Police were also looking for Haye - but at the time of writing he was nowhere to be seen.

All in all, the press conference melee signalled an eventful and fiery end to an already charged fight. It was inevitable, but a great shame, that the next day's headlines were dominated by an unruly brawl between two British fighters outside the ring. Between the two bells, Chisora acquitted himself well and managed to last 12 rounds with one of the finest heavyweights currently in the fight game, but the back pages were naturally overshadowed by the press conference melee.

We may well expect to see Chisora fight Haye later this year - we just hope that the British boys can learn a lesson about gentlemanly conduct from the Klitschko brothers.

Pre-fight Analysis

Dereck "Del Boy" Chisora takes on Vitali "Dr. Ironfist" Klitschko for the WBC World Heavyweight Championship, live from the Olympiahalle, Munich on Saturday 18th February.

The Londoner is up for the challenge and if he fights like he did against European champion Robert Helenius when he was robbed of the title in 2011, then he's got a chance of pulling off an amazing win.

Chisora is confident of causing an upset against reigning champ Klitschko, saying: "The Klitschko brothers have ruled for too long and it's now time to start smashing down the Iron Curtain of heavyweight boxing, starting with Vitali".

The Tension Grows in January

The big fight build-up began in earnest back in the second week of January when the two heavyweights met for a pre-fight press conference. Chisora attended the event in a canary yellow Reliant Robin; a tribute to his fighting nickname, "Del Boy", taken from the Only Fools and Horses character.

"You can only punch something you can see, and you won't be seeing me. You're the Ironfist but I'm going to destroy you in your back yard. I am the black plague," said the Londoner, while also promising to win the fight with a knockout.

Chisora Promises 8th Round KO

Chisora and Klitschko next went face-to-face during an 18-minute long interview shot exclusively for BoxNation:

Klitschko: "You think you're better puncher than me? I doubt it. You're a better thinker than me? I don't believe in that. Tell me your skill? How will you try to beat me?"

Chisora: "I'm telling you, you're going down in the eighth round!"

The Calm Before the Storm

February has seen each fighter envelop themselves in strict training regimens ahead of this massive bout on Saturday the 18th.

The Ukrainian World Champ did speak to BoxNation at the start of the month to give an insight into his training, including the fact that he's sparring with shorter fighters in a bid to prepare for Chisora - a man over six inches shorter than him.

Chisora, too, took a break from his training for an exclusive interview with BoxNation , during which he once more asserted his belief that he would score a knockout win in the eighth round.

The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

This Saturday night the talking will end and the fight can begin. Dereck Chisora faces the biggest challenge of his career as he looks to wrest away the WBC World Heavyweight Championship from Vitali and break the Klitschko brothers' stranglehold on the World belts.

Del Boy Chisora might be on foreign shores, but he will have the whole of Britain behind him as he looks to bring a Heavyweight World Championship home for the first time since Lennox Lewis was at his fighting best.