Tag Archives: Dereck Chisora

Posted on 04/25/2022

By John “Gutterdandy” Walker

Dillian “The Body Snatcher” Whyte, who was defeated in what appeared to be a one-sided bout against WBC champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury last Saturday in the UK, is now crying foul, blaming Fury for using dirty tactics and also slamming the referee for allowing Fury to push him to the mat and to rabbit punch him throughout the contest.

“I was trying to get my senses [after Fury connected with an uppercut] and he fully two-handed pushed me and I fell over and hit my head,” Whyte explains. “It was a terrible job from the referee. I should have had time to recover and have time to go back to my corner.”

Whyte contends that the contest with Fury was a very even, back and forth affair, with him giving as good as he was getting throughout the fight. Yet most boxing fans and analysts seemed to see it as a one-sided contest that Fury ended with a sixth round uppercut that the WBC champion’s team later admitted was inspired by now-retired Russian veteran Alexander Povetkin’s knockout of the year, detonating Whyte’s chin back in 2020.

Whyte mocked and derided former WBC champion Deontay Wilder when he made a series of ever more outlandish claims against Fury after being manhandled and stopped in the second of three matches with The Gypsy King. But now, Whyte himself is choosing to go the same route as Wilder did, making a series of complaints and demanding a rematch, though also realizing that he will need to beat another top heavyweight before that happens, if the WBC champion doesn’t decide to stick to his plans to retire.

Whyte may be trying to stay relevant in the heavyweight division by calling Fury a dirty fighter, and there is some historical truth to that claim. Earlier in his career, for instance, Fury employed a barrage of rabbit punches to the head of Canadian heavyweight champion Neven Pajkic after Pajkic had knocked him flat, and did the same to American Steve Cunningham, a former cruiserweight champion who also put Fury on the canvas in the Brit’s fighting debut at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.

But whether Fury employed dirty tactics sufficent to beat Whyte is another question entirely. Truth be told, since his victory over top contender Joseph Parker of New Zealand in 2018, Dillian Whyte’s career has been headed on a downward trajectory.  Since that fight, Whyte has been embroiled in controversies and often looked less than impressive in the ring:

Whyte vs Oscar Rivas (2019): Whyte gets knocked down and edges Rivas with a UD under a cloud of suspicion: dianabol steroids are found in his blood and an accusation was made of Whyte using illegal gloves that were substituted for the agreed upon mitts just before the fight. Rivas’ trainer Russ Anber is furious and files a complaint with British Boxing Board of Control

Whyte vs Mariusz Wach (2019): Whyte goes life and death with the giant Polish journeyman Wach, taking a beating that actually leaves him looking like the loser of the match. The unanimous decision scores for Whyte seem not to accurately reflect what actually happened in the ring. At times an out of shape Whyte was literally hanging on.

Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin 1 (2020): Whyte is utterly destroyed by the KO of the year from the aging Povetkin. The Body Snatcher is knocked out cold on his feet by a masterfully delivered uppercut from the Russian veteran.

Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin 2 (2021):  Povetkin is brought in fresh out of a Russian hospital and still suffering from long covid symptoms. He is stopped by Whyte in a rematch that shouldn’t have taken place at that time.

Whyte vs Otto Wallin (2021, cancelled):  Whyte pulls out of the fight with 10 days left to go, in an incredibly shoddy move.  He and promoter Eddie Hearn fail to provide any evidence of an “injured shoulder,” and Hearn is downright sneering and dismissive about it.  Wallin, who gave Tyson Fury fits in their 2019 fight, is understandably livid. Whyte then disappears to await a title shot against Tyson Fury.

Whyte vs Tyson Fury (2022): Whyte seems off balance and struggles to make an impact. Fury takes him out with an uppercut that he later admits was modelled on the same punch Povetkin took “The Body Snatcher” out with.  Helluva punch, but still not as powerful as Povetkin’s masterpiece, which was one of the greatest one-punch KO shots in boxing history.

The question thus arises: was Dillian Whyte prevented from achieving heavyweight glory by “dirty tactics” used by Tyson Fury, enabled by an inattentive referee?

Or had Dillian Whyte been going downhill for the last few years, and was sold to the public via hype from fighters like David Haye, Dereck Chisora, and to some extent Tyson Fury himself, all who went out of their way to elevate the reputation of a man they knew had little to no chance of dethroning the heavyweight champion?

No doubt Whyte will now try to convince the boxing public it’s the former answer, but a close look at Whyte’s recent record suggests it’s the latter.

Posted on 02/22/2022

By: Hans Themistode

There are several in the boxing world who find the newly signed showdown between Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury an intriguing one. Following weeks of negotiations, the pair will finally square off on April 23rd, in Wembley Stadium in the United Kingdom.

Although Whyte has aggregated wins against some of the heavyweight division’s best, including former champions, Joseph Parker, Lucas Browne, and former interim titlist Alexander Povetkin, Fury is viewed as a gargantuan favorite.

While most are expecting Fury to crush Whyte’s world title dreams, Dereck Chisora is going against the grain and choosing Whyte to pull off the unlikely upset.

“Dillian Whyte,” said Chisora to Behind The Gloves when asked who he expects to win. “He’s going to have to work hard to win. He wants it, he’s hungry.”

Fury, now 33, completed a brutal three-fight series with hard-hitting former titlist, Deontay Wilder. Fury peeled himself up off the deck during their October showdown in 2021, to ultimately stop Wilder in the 11th round.

The win for Fury may have been arguably the most impressive of his career, but Chisora believes it came at a devastating cost. Immediately following the first defense of his WBC crown, Fury was presented with life-changing money. With the British native reportedly making upwards of $30 million for their heavyweight clash and roughly $32 million to face Whyte, Chisora believes that the added income will be his undoing.

Having been involved in the pugilistic sport for a decade and a half, Chisora can only recall one fighter who pocketed a boatload of money and remained the same.

“When fighters make $20 to $40 million, they’re not hungry anymore,” continued Chisora. “There’s only one fighter that’s ever been hungry when he made $100 million and that was Floyd Mayweather. When fighters make all of this money, they’re not hungry anymore. They just do it for the sake of doing it. But when someone is hungry, like Dillian right now, he’s going to die in that ring.”

Chisora knows good and well how far Whyte is willing to push himself in order to secure a victory. In 2016 and 2018, Chisora engaged in a back and forth war with Whyte, falling short on both occasions. Chisora’s ring experience with Whyte has left him with a newfound respect for his rival, something he believes Fury lacks for his latest title challenger.

In totality, Chisora believes that Fury is normally locked in on the person standing in front of him. However, when asked if Fury is looking past Whyte, Chisora gave a succinct answer.

“He is.”

Posted on 01/27/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Fans of Dereck Chisora were ambivalent when the news began circulating.

Despite coming off a one-sided unanimous decision defeat at the hands of former heavyweight champion Joseph Parker, promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned hard-hitting former WBC titlist Deontay Wilder as a possible opponent for Chisora.

Wilder, 36, is coming off a brutal 11th round stoppage defeat at the hands of Tyson Fury in October of 2021. Although Wilder was ultimately put away, the Alabama native dropped the current heavyweight champion twice in the fourth round and battled him tooth and nail throughout.

Since revealing his thoughts, a possible showdown between Chisora and Wilder has been met with a mixed bag of emotions. However, despite his fans vacillating over the outcome of their feasible clash, Chisora is uninterested in hearing from those who would like for him to avoid Wilder altogether.

“Some people say no, some people say yes but it’s up to me,” said Chisora to IFL TV. “I say yes. If it’s a good fight we wanna make it happen. We wanna make good fights happen.”

Chisora, 38, currently finds himself embroiled in a tough stretch. Following three consecutive victories in 2019, the British product has gone the other way.

At the tail end of 2020, Chisora attempted to derail the title hopes of Ukrainian star Oleksandr Usyk. Although Chisora had his moments, he was ultimately out-boxed by the current unified heavyweight champion. In an attempt to dust himself off and return to the win column, Chisora faced off against Parker in May of 2021.

While Chisora would score an early knockdown in the first round, Parker would rally back to win a close split decision. Seven months later, as previously mentioned, Chisora would come up short in their immediate rematch.

Although Parker and several others believe that Chisora should ultimately retire, the fringe contender has no intentions of doing so. If a bout against Wilder can ultimately be made, Chisora will gladly welcome the hard-hitting American with opened arms.

“Most fighters don’t wanna fight, I like to fight.”

Posted on 01/10/2022

By: Hans Themistode

Despite no longer holding his WBC heavyweight title, Deontay Wilder’s name still strikes fear into the hearts of many. With the Alabama native stopping all but one of his opponents, he’s widely considered to be one of the most pernicious punchers the boxing world has ever seen.

Still, regardless of his penchant for violent knockouts, Dereck Chisora is more than willing to face him.

“I’m open to anything,” said Chisora during an interview with Talk Sport. “I love fighting. What most people don’t understand is some people want to have the perception of being boxers on Instagram.”

Chisora, 38, is currently in the midst of one of the worst stretches in his career. On December 18th in Manchester Arena, Chisora was sent to the canvas a total of three times before losing a fairly wide decision at the hands of former heavyweight belt holder Joseph Parker. The loss for Chisora represented his third straight.

Although Chisora might be struggling to find his form, promoter Eddie Hearn believes the fringe contender has more than what it takes to not only compete with Wilder but ultimately, knock him off his high horse.

“He can beat Deontay Wilder,” said Hearn recently to IFL TV. “If he gets hit in the first three or four rounds, well, maybe at any time in the fight, it’s potentially over. But he can outlast Deontay Wilder and wear him down.”

At one point, Wilder was a proud owner of the WBC heavyweight title. But, following back-to-back losses against Tyson Fury, both of which ended before the sound of the final bell, Wilder is now pondering his next move. Presently, the 36-year-old has yet to make up his mind but he has flirted with the idea of hanging up his gloves for good.

However, until Wilder officially packs away his boxing trunks and walks off into the sunset, he remains a top name in the division.

As Chisora carefully looks over his own resume, the British native begins to smirk incredulously. Having faced the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Dillian Whyte, and a long list of other notable names, Chisora is proud to have shared the ring with some of the best heavyweights of his era.

If, by chance, Chisora is given the opportunity to lace up his gloves against Wilder, he appears unfazed by facing one of the heaviest hitters in boxing history.

“I want to be that guy that when I sit down and everybody looks at my resume, I want to say, ‘You know what, I fought everybody in my era.’ I don’t want to let people decide for me, I decide for myself and be happy with the decision I make. So if I have to fight Deontay Wilder, if I have to fight whoever, if I have to fight an American, I don’t care, I will fight.”

Posted on 01/05/2022

By: Hans Themistode

The losses are rapidly piling up for heavyweight fringe contender Dereck Chisora.

At the age of 38, Chisora has yet to pick up a win since facing off against David Price in 2019. Since then, the British native has found himself on the losing end of three razor-close decisions.

On Halloween day in 2020, Chisora gave current unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk all he could handle. While the rough and rugged contender would push the Ukrainian star, he was unable to secure the victory. Seven months later, Chisora would suffer defeat again, this time at the hands of Joseph Parker.

Most recently, both Chisora and Parker locked horns in an immediate rematch. Although he gave it everything he had, Chisora was dropped three times before losing a close unanimous decision.

With another defeat smeared on his resume, many, including Parker, have urged the 38-year-old to call it a career. Promoter Eddie Hearn, on the other hand, doesn’t believe Chisora is necessarily slowing down.

“I don’t see Dereck Chisora deteriorating,” said Hearn during an interview with IFL TV. “But what I do see is him in a lot of tough fights. He’s losing to elite heavyweights.”

Even with Chisora hitting a rough patch and seemingly near the end of his rope, Hearn believes he can still compete with some of the division’s best. With former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder currently in the midst of his own difficult stretch, having suffered back-to-back stoppage defeats at the hands of Tyson Fury, Hearn has begun fantasizing about a showdown between the pair.

In no way, shape, or form does Hearn believe Chisora will be outclassed by the former titlist. In fact, if the long-time promoter were a gambling man, he’d wager that Chisora could pull off the upset, provided he stayed out of harm’s way.

“I wouldn’t suggest it but if Del [Chisora] wants to fight Deontay Wilder, he can beat Deontay Wilder. If he gets hit in the first three or four rounds, well, maybe at any time in the fight, it’s potentially over but he can outlast Deontay Wilder and wear him down. For me, I’m not out there actively looking for a fight for Dereck Chisora vs. Deontay Wilder but I can’t deny, I’m interested to watch it.”

Posted on 12/17/2021

By: Hans Themistode

After being forced to fight off the back foot and deal with relentless pressure from Dereck Chisora for much of their first contest, Joseph Parker has packed on the pounds.

With the pair set to square off for a second consecutive time at the Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom, this Saturday night, both men stepped onto the scales having taken different methods during their respective training camps.

During their first contest, which took place seven months ago, saw Parker weigh in at 241 pounds. This time around, he tipped the scales at 251 pounds. Throughout the entirety of the New Zealand native’s career, he’s routinely weighed-in around 235 pounds. His new and heavier frame checks in at a career-high.

Regardless of the extra pounds, Parker will look to build off his momentum after a disastrous 2018. The now 29-year-old suffered back-to-back defeats at the hands of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte, the former resulted in the forfeiture of his WBO heavyweight title.

Since then, however, Parker has reeled off five consecutive victories, three of which have come inside the distance.

As for Chisora, the 37-year-old fringe contender has peeled off a few pounds since his first encounter with Parker. Officially, the British native checked in at 248 pounds as opposed to the 250½ he weighed seven months prior.

After dropping the former titlist in the opening moments of the first round, Chisora fought Parker on mostly terms. Still, despite what he believes was a clear decision victory, Chisora was acrimonious by the final result. With back-to-back defeats, the former coming at the hands of current unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, Chisora has stated time and time again that he fully intends on hunting the knockout this time around against Parker.

Posted on 09/16/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Dereck Chisora was incredulous when the results were first announced. Believing he did more than enough to earn a victory against Joseph Parker, Chisora was stunned when it was actually Parker’s hand that was raised after a hard-fought 12 rounds on May 1st.

After admitting that their bout was a close affair, both Parker and Chisora have decided to do it again.

On December 18th, at Manchester Arena, the original scene of the crime, both heavyweight contenders are set to lock horns once more.

Chisora’s belief that he won their first showdown, stems from the fast start he got off to. After flooring his man in the opening round, Chisora continued to up the pace throughout the first half of their contest.

Ultimately though, Parker would find his rhythm and hold his ground. The former WBO heavyweight titlist seemingly had much more in the gas tank during the championship rounds and took advantage of both his better gas tank and a fatigued Chisora to eke out the victory.

For Parker, the win represented his fifth straight since picking up back-to-back losses at the hands of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018. Currently, the 29-year-old is ranked number two in the WBO sanctioning body and could be on the verge of landing a title shot.

As for Chisora, he now finds himself in the midst of a two-fight losing streak. Shortly before picking up the loss to Parker, Chisora was handed a close unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk.

In preparation for his immediate rematch with Parker, Chisora has been spotted sparring current unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua.

Posted on 05/01/2021

By: Oliver McManus

Saturday night sees Derek Chisora and Joseph Parker collide in a heavyweight clash topping a slightly questionable UK pay-per-view card. The twelve rounder, with no title attached, is the result of a heavyweight waiting game involving Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury with additional cameos from Joe Joyce, Oleksandr Usyk and Dillian Whyte.

As a result, we’re left with a disparate array of former champions, old-timers and prospects looking to stay in the mix but with very few viable options to keep them busy. Hence we have Chisora vs Parker.

The fight itself doesn’t exactly set pulses racing, certainly not at £19.95, but it certainly intrigues. Not least because two or three years ago you’d have struggled to make a credible case for Chisora beating Joseph Parker yet, just days away from the fight, it’s hard to confidently assert who will win.

Chisora, against all reasonable logic, has maintained his status as a potential bogeyman: a modern day gatekeeper, if you will. At 37, he’s capable of picking up explosive stoppages against the likes of David Price and Artur Szpilka, thereby retaining his relevance in a depleted division – but has a knack of lackluster against the bigger names.

Sure he did better against Oleksandr Usyk than many expected but it’s hard to say he had the Ukrainian in any real bother: and certainly not consistently.

Joseph Parker, meanwhile, was the feel-good boxer of lockdown thanks to his ingenious social media videos. There wasn’t much to feel good about in his last outing, though, as he laboured to a points win over Junior Fa. The former WBO world champion should have been a class above his former amateur rival – Fa has struggled to make his mark as a professional – but looked sluggish and reluctant to loosen up.

He was a shadow of the man that had Dillian Whyte on the ropes and staring down the barrel of defeat. To his credit, he has linked up with the fantastic Andy Lee and you’d hope that will spark some life back into him.

Who wins? You’d have to say the sensible money is with Parker. If Chisora wins it’ll be a statement on how far diminished the Kiwi has become as opposed to anything else.

Posted on 04/26/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Dereck Chisora continues to jump in tough fight after tough fight. The heavyweight contender is scheduled to take on former heavyweight belt holder, Joseph Parker, at the Manchester Arena this coming Saturday night.

The British native is fresh off a closer than expected unanimous decision loss against top contender Oleksandr Usyk. While many were expecting Chisora to be thoroughly outclassed, the 37-year-old pushed the pace and gave Usyk a run for his money.

With the chance to face Parker presented to him, Chisora jumped on the opportunity as soon as possible. Although most are hoping for a back-and-forth slugfest, Chisora believes no one should be holding their breath. In his opinion, the chances of Parker meeting him in the center of the ring to bang it out are slim to none.

“I’m expecting Jospeh to run away,” said Chisora to Matchroom Boxing. “Most people don’t want to fight me because I’m a headache. I know for a fact he’s not going to want to stand there. I’m going to punch him up and take his ear off. The fight is going to be a great fight. We’re going to go crazy.”

For Parker (28-2, 21 KOs), he’ll look to keep the winning train going as he’s currently on a four-fight win streak. In his most recent appearance, Parker easily outworked fringe contender Junior Fa. A win over Chisora is something he believes will officially put a dismal 2018 behind him as he picked up back-to-back defeats at the hands of Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte.

Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) has no issue with the confidence of Parker, but ultimately, he doesn’t believe it will matter. Like always, the game plan for Chisora is a simple one. He isn’t looking to engage in a boxing match and attempt to slip and counter shots while using pretty feet work. Instead, he merely wants to find the chin of Parker and check it as soon as possible. If Chisora does, he’s firmly under the impression that it’ll be all she wrote for the former champ.

“You know the routine, war. Expect for me to deliver, I chase the guy, beat the guy, pound on the guy and destroy that guy. Just put the fear of God in him”

Posted on 03/19/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Normally, Dereck Chisora can be found scowling. This time around, he couldn’t stop smiling.

With news of the heavyweight contender finalizing a deal to take on former WBO belt holder Joseph Parker, Chisora was happy as can be. After witnessing Parker pick up his fourth win in a row against Junior Fa just a few weeks ago, Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) picked up the phone and gave his good buddy a call to begin negotiations.

It may have taken a few days to get in contact with him, but once he did, the ball got rolling immediately after.

“He didn’t want to answer but he answered a couple of days later and we spoke,” said Chisora during an interview with Sky Sports Boxing. “I’m excited.”

Following a close loss at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk on Halloween day last year, Chisora appeared ready to get back out there as soon as possible. While the defeat to Usyk represented the 10th of his career, Chisora accounted himself very well against the former undisputed cruiserweight world champion.

Originally, the two were slated to face one another in 2019. However, due to a spider bite, Parker (28-2, 21 KOs) was forced to pull out. Parkers decision to remove himself from their contest didn’t come as a surprise to Chisora as he claimed he saw “fear,” in the eyes of Parker.

Nevertheless, the heavyweight contenders are officially locked in for May 1st. Presently, there is no question in the mind of Chisora that he will pick up the win. That said, he fully realizes that Parker is a legitimate threat and as such, he has enlisted the help of several notable sparring partners.

“He’s got fast hands but I got a new trainer coming in so I’m excited about that. I’ve got all my sparring partners in. Gerald Washington, I was supposed to have Bryant Jennings but he’s boxing (Oscar) Rivas again soon so I’ve got a couple other guys I’m looking at now.”

Despite his normally surly and aloof demeanor, Chisora has grown fond of Parker. The two have been seen on several occasions smiling with one another while enjoying a conversation.

Still, even with Chisora revering his opponent, that won’t stop him from attempting to dish out serious damage to him on May 1st.

“I’m going to take him to the deep end. I’m going to bring war and pain.”

Posted on 03/09/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Dereck Chisora wasn’t particularly amused when he flipped on his television roughly two weeks ago.

The former heavyweight title challenger watched as Junior Fa and former WBO belt holder Joseph Parker threw punches lethargically at one another across his screen.

In no time at all, Chisora found himself uninterested in their contest which took place at the Spark Arena in Auckland New Zealand.

Despite his boredom, Chisora watched every second of their 12 round fight. Shortly after the final bell, he offered an explanation as to why their contest turned out to be more or less a dud.

“The fight was not great,” said Chisora during an interview with IFL TV. “They didn’t spar a lot, they were not in shape those guys, they did not train hard enough. There was no fear factor for both of them.”

Regardless of the lack of action, Chisora was incredulous when the final scorecards were read. Judge Paul Fitzsimmons may have scored their bout closely in favor of Parker 115-113, but the following two judges scored things much wider as Andrew Bell had it 117-111 and John Conway’s card read 119-109 all in favor of Parker.

By all accounts, Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) believes that the right man won. But the wideness of the scorecards made him question the judge’s sanity.

“Boxing is becoming unbelievably great but the judging is becoming disgraceful. I think the boxing federation needs to figure out how they’re going to get new fresh eyes because half of these guys wear glasses, they can’t see nothing man.”

Immediately after Parker was handed the victory, Chisora wasted no time in calling him out. In fact, the British native recorded himself giving Parker a call and urged him to make a fight with him happen.

Originally, the pair were scheduled to meet in 2019 but due to a spider bite, Parker was forced to pull out. With that entire ordeal behind them and with Parker picking up his fourth straight win, Chisora revealed that they are currently in the midst of rekindling their matchup and could be on their way to making it a reality.

“If we can get Joseph Parker in the next couple months we would be happy with that. Right now we’re in talks for the fight to be in London. I’ll beat him up anytime.”

For Chisora, a big win is needed at this point in his career. On Halloween night just a few months ago, he was within a few points of taking home what would’ve been categorized as the most important victory of his elongated career as he took on former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

The loss may have set him back but according to Chisora, a win over Parker (28-2, 21 KOs) will point him back on track.

In terms of how their showdown would play out, Chisora isn’t interested in predicting the future. With that said, he is confident that he’ll pick up the victory. So much so, that he is already playing matchmaker for his next contest after Parker.

“After that fight, maybe if Tyson Fury and AJ (Anthony Joshua) don’t really happen I jump in there with Tyson Fury.”

Posted on 02/21/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Dominic Breazeale was viewed as a step-up fight. The kind that wouldn’t be an easy night at the office for Otto Wallin, but one that he should ultimately walk away from with his hand raised in victory if he wanted to place himself in title contention.

After 12 rounds with the former multiple-time title challenger, Wallin cruised past Breazeale and proved that another title shot could be just around the corner. Still, the Swedish product has more work to do if he wants to place himself in the front of the line when the dust at the top of the division clears between unified champion Anthony Joshua and WBC/Ring magazine belt holder, Tyson Fury, a man Wallin nearly defeated almost two years ago.

In order to get his next crack at a world title, Wallin will need to step up his competition. Luckily for him, the heavyweight division is filled with plenty of names that, if he beats, can place him on the map. Let’s take a look at the best matches to make for him next.

Charles Martin

Charles Martin’s title win in January of 2016 was a bit fluky. His contest against Vyacheslav Glazkov ended early in his favor due to Glazkov suffering an injury to his right knee. The injury was so bad in fact, that Glazkov has never fought again.

Still, despite the fortunate win, Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) loss the title in his first defense against Anthony Joshua in the second round. Outside of an additional loss to Adam Kownacki in 2018, Martin has reeled off three straight stoppage wins. His title reign may have been a short one, but defeating a former world champion is exactly the sort of win that Wallin needs plastered on his own resume.

Michael Hunter

There’s a lot to like about Michael Hunter. Since making the move to the heavyweight division he’s won seven contests with a draw against top contender Alexander Povetkin sandwiched in between. He was last seen in the ring closing out his 2020 with a fourth-round knockout win over Shawn Laughery.

Hunter (19-1-1, 13 KOs) didn’t appear to be in the best of shape but he picked up the win and continues to rise. For Wallin, beating an older Dominic Breazeale is a solid win, however, taking down a younger, fresher fighter in Hunter would begin to turn a few heads.

Dereck Chisora

Just when you think Dereck Chisora has nothing left in the tank, he turns back the clock a few years and makes everyone look a bit foolish. Going into his heavyweight showdown against Oleksandr Usyk in October of 2020, Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) wasn’t given much of a shot. The expectations were for the British contender to get outboxed for 12 rounds and look lethargic while trying to catch up to his man. While he didn’t pick up the win, Chisora put up one helluva fight.

Chisora’s career has always been a rollercoaster ride. He lost three straight fights to Robert Helenius, Vitali Klitschko and David Haye in 2011/2012, then reeled off five straight. He was knocked out cold against Dillian Whyte in 2018, then bounced back and started leaving his opponents comatose for three straight contests.

Chisora would present Wallin with the ultimate risk but a decent reward as a win over him would make everyone take notice.

Luis Ortiz

While a win over the other names on this list would make a few fans latch on to Wallin’s bandwagon, a victory over Luis Ortiz would make just about everyone jump on board.

Regardless of the dust on his birth certificate, the 41-year-old is still regarded as one of the best heavyweights in the world. Like most, the chin of Ortiz simply couldn’t hold up against the power of Deontay Wilder. Still, Ortiz (32-2, 27 KOs) carries around the sort of clout that Wallin needs.

Even at his current age, Ortiz is seldom, if ever called out. For Wallin, if he were able to not only call out the former title challenger but actually defeat him, he wouldn’t have to beg for a title shot. One would be presented to him immediately.

Kubrat Pulev

Kubrat Pulev is good, very good even but he doesn’t appear to be great. Under normal circumstances, Wallin would have little to gain in defeating him. With that being said, Pulev has the power of perception standing in his corner.

Just a few months ago, Pulev (28-2, 14 KOs) was standing across the ring from unified champion Anthony Joshua. Although it wasn’t exactly a close contest and despite Pulev getting knocked out in the ninth round, most of the boxing world remembers that he was at the very least, fighting for a world championship to begin with. Those opportunities aren’t given to just anyone.

A dominant win over him would make boxing fans compare performances. Considering the roll he’s on, if Wallin can somehow end things earlier than Joshua did, many will begin to consider Wallin as a worthy title contender.

Posted on 12/31/2020

By: Hans Themistode

Heavyweight contender Oleksandr Usyk has been built up to be some sort of monster. With the first five years of his career spent at the cruiserweight division, Usyk became known as not only a skillful boxer but also a belt collector.

Over the span of two years, Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) captured every single world title in the cruiserweight division. His subsequent move up in weight has yet to bring him a world title but the results are all the same. Meaning, a tally in the win column.

While the victories continue to pile up, former Usyk opponent in Dereck Chisora doesn’t view him as the monster many depict him as. In fact, after taking several of his shots flush on the chin, the 37-year-old could only describe his opponent in one way.

“The guy can’t punch,” said Usyk to IFL TV during a recent interview. “To be honest, he’s not a scare in the heavyweight division. Physically he’s not strong. I ate one of his best shots and it didn’t bother me. His output is good but he has no power.”

Chisora’s criticism of Usyk doesn’t come from an outsider’s perspective but from first-hand experience. On October 31st, in Wembley Arena, Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) was given a crack at the former undisputed cruiserweight champion. Heading into their showdown, the prevailing thought surrounding their matchup was that Usyk would win a comfortable decision on the judge’s scorecards. However, the physicality of Chisora proved to be a much bigger issue as Usyk had difficulty adjusting to the British contender’s aggressive style.

Following 12 evenly fought rounds, Usyk managed to eke out a close decision victory. Unlike past defeats where Chisora would simply brush his shortcomings under the rug and move forward, the loss to Usyk is still something that visibly irritates him.

“All he did was run away. I was very disappointed. I thought we were in the professional game, not the amateurs. I pushed the fight, chased the fight, I did everything in the fight. All he did was run away.”

Despite Chisora placing Usyk towards the bottom of the barrel in terms of heavyweight contenders, the 37-year-old does believe that the former cruiserweight kingpin has one trick up his sleeve that will allow him to bank wins against the elite of the heavyweight division.

“With his movement, he would Dillian (Whyte). He would beat Joe Joyce. It’s his movement. If you’re not prepared for that movement then he’s going to walk all over you. He doesn’t have much power but if you don’t prepare for the movement then it’s going to be a long night for you.”

Posted on 11/01/2020

By: Hans Themistode

The questions surrounding Oleksandr Usyk and his run in the heavyweight division are slowly being answered. The former undisputed cruiserweight champion survived a few rough moments early on against fringe contender Dereck Chisora before dancing his way to the finish line this past Saturday night.

Usyk, 33, may have had the advantage in terms of skills, but with his opponent carrying with him a near 40 pound weight advantage into the ring, many wondered how the Ukrainian product would react to a much bigger and stronger man.

However, following a unanimous decision victory, Usyk gave no mention to Chisora’s physical advantages. Instead, he was more so exasperated over what he believes were dirty tactics.

“Dereck was a huge test for me,” said Usyk during a post fight interview with Sky Sports Boxing. “He did so many low blows, elbows and hits to the back of the head but it really made me stronger.”

With a mandatory title challenge already guaranteed to him, Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) was never interested in facing Chisora to begin with. Yet, with unified champion Anthony Joshua already married to a title defense against Kubrat Pulev, the Ukrainian risked his mandated title shot in order to keep off the ring rust.

For Joshua, he’s expressed an interest in facing Usyk, but he’s also made it clear that after he takes care of business against Pulev on December 12th, he would much rather unify titles against Tyson Fury. The winner of their highly anticipated matchup would be crowned the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.

Despite the historical significance, Usyk has no intention of sitting on the sidelines.

“I am the mandatory for Anthony Joshua so he has two options. One, to fight me, the other one is to vacate and fight Tyson Fury. Either he fights me or he relinquishes.”

The normally active former Cruiserweight kingpin has been the exact opposite over the past two years. With a number of injuries and a worldwide pandemic slowing down his action in the ring, his contest against Chisora was only his second in two years.

The rust was evident as he appeared uncomfortable early on. With that being said, Usyk believes that the best is yet to come.

“I feel like I can do better. I didn’t box for a year so it took me a little while to warm up. We definitely will do much better in the future.”

Posted on 10/31/2020

By: Hans Themistode

The skills of Oleksandr Usyk were never in question, but coming up from a cruiserweight division in which he dominated, his size was.

A one sided beatdown of fringe contender Chazz Witherspoon did little to answer any questions regarding his standing in the heavyweight division late last year. But after a decision win over bonafide contender Dereck Chisora, the Ukrainian product answered those questions tonight.

Somewhat.

After months of cancelations due to both injuries and a worldwide pandemic, Usyk and Chisora finally entered the ring against one another. The game plan was simple for both men.

For Chisora, he wanted to turn things into a bar fight. Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) on the other hand, wanted to steer clear of the big bombs that would be heading his way and box.

Things couldn’t have started any better for the British native. He came barreling straight ahead from the opening bell and placed nonstop pressure on his man. Not many of his shots landed but it was clear that Usyk wasn’t exactly having fun in there.

However, with the first three rounds going how he wanted, Chisora (32-10, 23 KOs) seemingly ran out of steam. He backed off his consistent pressure and instead appeared content with plodding forward while throwing one shot at a time.

The change in both his game plan and stamina, turned the tide in favor of Usyk. The former undisputed cruiserweight titlist began finding his rhythm as his shots appeared to be ubiquitous.

As the rounds ticked by, it was becoming more and more obvious that Usyk was the fresher man and the more polished boxer. Chisora, to his credit, never gave in no matter how many times his head snapped back due to a right, left combination from Usyk.

During the championship rounds, Chisora appeared to have nothing left. The big shots were thrown far and few between and he essentially became a sitting duck for his opponents offense.

The British product walked slowly out of his corner in the final round, while Usyk appeared to be just fine. As the bell rang to signal the end of their contest, a dejected Chisora had no interest in shaking the out stretched hand of his opponent. Usyk though, sauntered around the ring with his hand raised while screaming inside of the empty Wembley arena.

As the two waited on the final word coming from the judges scorecards, unified champion Anthony Joshua was seen taking in the view from ringside.

A few moments later, the official decision was announced. One judge scoring the bout had it 117-112 while the remaining two had it much closer at 115-113, all in favor of Usyk.