British Heavyweight Boxing: Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora Fight for the Right to Face Klitschko

With a chance to face Klitschko for his WBO title both Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora are looking to win but they’re going about it in two different ways

Already shaping up to be a hoopla that happens to have a fight at the center rather than a fight with some hoopla surrounding it, the long awaited rematch between Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury takes place this Saturday. Two of the best boxers in Britain today, this pair of disparate characters are set to fight for not only Chisora’s European title but also the chance to take on WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko.

With the stakes so high it was always bound to be a massively interesting display of European heavyweight boxing and both fighters have enviable records. Chisora holds the title and stands at 20 wins to 4 losses, whilst his opponent, Tyson Fury has won all of his 22 fights thus far in his professional career. However this is one bout you’re not going to be able to put down to statistics and metrics.

When they come out swinging on the 26th it won’t be the start of the fight, just the continuation of it by other far more physical means. The psychological battle is already underway and has already set tongues wagging and the British tabloid press into the sort of feeding frenzy that makes sharks look like discerning diners. If anyone were in any doubt that a fight between these two would be explosive they should put that fear aside.

Tyson Fury

This aptly named giant has a punch like a sledgehammer and a mouth like a drunken sailor. However dangerous he is to his opponents in the ring, and his record speaks for itself on that score, he seems intent on being far more of a danger to himself outside the ring. Apparently having not quite understood the whole public relations sphere might actually require relating to the public, not simply swearing at them, he’s done himself no favours with the gambling news.

Fury Takes On Chisora For His Title

• Will you bet on Fury Chisora
• Can it go the distance
• Will they wait till the bout to box?

From the tipping over of a table and then flouncing away from a press conference in March to the ugly scenes a head-to-head publicity event in May, to his invective laced tirade just the other day he seems to have gone quite a long way out of his way to court controversy. Plus, it would seem. press hatred, never a good recipe for anyone preparing for a fight, and some of his antics mean he’s already got an August 13th date with the British Boxing Board of Control which may suspend his license.

Tyson Fury punches himself in the ring and now seems to be replicating the behavior the wrong side of the ropes most recently telling a reporter who dared suggest he stop swearing quite so much in front of an audience not quite ready for such language “I don’t give a fuck how many women and children are in the audience. We’re getting near to the fight and I’m in fight mode, kill mode. If you don’t like the station, change the channel, bitch!”

His inevitable apologies on twitter later have placated no one and it only remains to be seen if this six feet nine inch fighter can punch where his opponent’s mouth is rather than constantly shoot himself in the foot. The side bet the two fighters organized between themselves for 100,000 GBP may or may not be enough to cover any fines he’s liable to pay after August but whatever happens he’s got a lot riding on Saturday’s fight.

Dereck Chisora

If Fury is living up to his name, Chisora is chilling out. He’s been the bad boy of British boxing and moved on, his relaxed demeanor and, for the most part, mellow behavior have been a stark contrast to his opponent. The Londoner watched impassively as Fury flipped tables in March and even applauded his exit – although that could well have been sarcasm. However not so long ago that could easily have been Chisora himself.

Noted for biting an opponent in the ring (or “doing a Suarez” as it’s now known since the world cup underdogs bit back) and kissing another at a weigh in Chisora is no stranger to grabbing headlines and behaving in an unacceptable manner. He slapped Vitali Klitschko at their weigh in and spat water at Wladimir Klitschko in the seconds prior to fighting the Vitali in what is a low point for boxing’s decorum. Fury might be the demon du jour but Chisora is no angel.

Chisora’s EBU heavyweight title is on the line against Fury and it is perhaps this that is concentrating the mind of the man the press now squarely want to win. That the two men had to be separated at their head-to-head publicity meeting when it seemed a simple handshake might erupt into something worse and words were exchanged between the various entourages. The popular opinion is that Fury’s reach is going to be a problem for Chisora but the man himself denies it.

“This fight will be the easiest of my career.” He claims, “I can just showcase my skills.” which is the sort of confident talk you’d expect from a man who admits to keeping himself purposely restrained in the lead up to the fight. “I can play the bad guy role very easily but I don’t need to. I love this role. I told my trainer to relax and chill out at press conferences”. A sentiment that has won him fans in the press box if not the front row. This will be a big fight for Chisora whether he cares to admit it or not.

So there you have it, two men, one ring, and a shot at fighting Klitschko at the other end, it might be a long slog of a battle but whomever comes out on top they’ll have earned both their EBU title and that shot at the WBO belt. There might be fallout from the build-up to deal with in the aftermath but right now both men are focused on Saturday’s grudge fight.

The money is fairly evenly split on the outcome thus far with Bet365 offering 4/9 on Fury and 7/4 on Chisora whilst BetVictor offer 1/ 2 and 13/8 respectively. You can make of those odd what you will but if you want to know what will happen on the night itself you better tune in to watch because just about anything could transpire as these two will be all out from well before they get in the arena’s ring and face off in gloves.