Tyson Fury - "I`ll quit if Chisora beats me."
Wembley is no stranger to hosting heavyweight tussles . Tonight this tradition continues as two young giants who stand 12ft 10 inches between them contest the British and Commonwealth crowns in the famous Arena. The bout also sees a return to terrestrial TV as Channel 5 host and marks a much needed rival to the ever dominance of Rupert Murdoch`s Sky who have single-handedly carried the noble art in recent years as boxing has become a side attraction in stark contrast to football, cricket and rugby (true, but British boxing would be in a much poorer state if it wasn't for SKY - assistant Ed).
Double title holder Dereck Chisora 14-0 has seen two proposed challenges to Wladimir Klitschko fall through this year but now has to settle for an opportunity to prove he is the domestic king. Standing in his way and another crack at Wladimir is the brash, yet likeable 23 year-old Tyson Fury, who at 6ft 9ins will have a five inch height advantage that has helped him quickly mount up a 14-0 log in only two-and-half years as a professional.
Fury admits much of that opposition was largely limited with the exception of seasoned John McDermott who many believe deserved referee Terry O`Connor`s verdict when they first fought in September 2009. The Manchester man somehow escaped with his unbeaten record intact in what promoter Frank Maloney called robbery. In the rematch Fury had no such problems, stopping McDermott in the ninth last year. Ahead of this highly anticipated clash both men have fallen foul to inactivity with Fury only fighting once this year, while Chisora hasn`t fought since stopping Sam Sexton last September.
Finchley based Chisora, who is a former ABA heavyweight champion, captured the much coveted British crown by dethroning Mike Tyson Conqueror Danny Williams in three rounds last May and claims this fight is a ‘mismatch.’ The 27-year-old is no stranger to capturing the headlines and sadly in some cases for the wrong reasons. In 2009 he was suspended for four months and fined £2,500 for biting Paul Butlin then claimed he was bored and wanted to liven things up. Further controversy followed last year when he kissed Carl Baker on the lips before their British title eliminator and he could be considered fortunate to escape jail after being found guilty of assaulting his girlfriend, when the judge instead handed him a 12 week jail sentence, suspended for two years, and put under 18 months of probation supervision.
Fury has promised to ‘serve justice’ for every woman who has been beaten by the hands of a man and has frequently voiced his dislike for Chisora as a person but admits respecting him as a fighter and champion. However the slightly more experienced Chisora may not be the usual stand still target Fury has so far enjoyed as he possesses fine defensive skills, rolling his shoulders staying low and elusive. To his credit Chisora is seldom seen taking more than a couple of shots and much of that is down to trainer Don Charles who is on a hot winning streak with the recent Prizefighter success enjoyed by his pupil Yassine El Maachi.
The trade is split on this contest even though the bookmakers have installed `Del boy` as the pre-fight favourite. It should prove to be both men`s toughest test to date and could come down to a battle of wills. Fury has remained defiant and earlier this week threatened to kill Chisora and claimed he is willing to die in the ring.
Both men have excellent jabs but I expect Fury to take the fight to Chisora early on using his height, speed and weight to maximum effect. If Chisora` s usually stern defence remains in tact he will come into the second half of the fight and attempt to prove his assertion of Fury having no heart. Fury is the more powerful of the two and Sam Sexton`s trainer Graham Everett also told me `Chisora was two punches from quitting` in their contest.
As the adage declares someone`s 0 must go, but it shouldn`t mean the end of either fighter`s career despite the current TV trend to protect and promote unbeaten records. If Chisora can avoid or take Fury`s power he will remain the champion and if both men really put it on the line we could witness one of the best domestic heavyweight clashes in recent times. One statistic that sometimes goes unnoticed in the hype is both Chisora and Fury are still novices who are learning their trade yet alarmingly the winner looks set to face Wladimir Klitschko later this year.
Remarkably Fury doesn`t see it that way and revealed to me earlier this week that defeat to Chisora will see him quit. “If I am any good and I am going to on and win a world title I should deal with Derek Chisora quite easily and if not then obviously I am not as good as I thought I was. If I am any good I will win. If I have a close fight with Derek Chisora I am obviously not going to beat Klitschko. If I can`t beat Klitschko then I`m pointless being in the game because I don`t want to be a journeyman and just hang around at British level.”
It`s not the first time Fury has threatened to retire if he`s beaten. No doubt Chisora will be happy to oblige.
