Dereck Chisora vs Robert Helenius

by Trey Pollard

It’s a mystery as to what century some boxing judges think they live in. Maybe if it were the 1800s or the earliest decades of the 20th century, a judge might have reason to fear for his well-being after scoring a match against a hometown fighter. Maybe in those rough and tumble times when the West was being won, some fan – either drunken or lunatic – would wildly wield a revolver to defend the good name of the neighborhood kid who lost a decision or hurl a bottle or chair at the judge who didn’t see it the way they did.

But it’s 2011. Things have changed. In 95% of the venues of the world, the worst thing getting thrown around is an insult and the personal safety of a judge is not really in question. In few places would that be more true than Finland, one of the Scandanaivan wonderlands of docility and civility - yet still host to Saturday’s heavyweight clash between hometown hero Robert Helenius and British eccentric Dereck Chisora.

While I hate to stereotype the Finns, the fight between Helenius and Chisora was probably the most violent thing to ever occur in the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki. So, the judges probably had little to worry about with regard to objectively scoring the fight. They’d be fine either way. Therefore, it is up to the reader to infer exactly why Helenius was awarded a scandalously homecooked split decision that allowed him to retain an undefeated record after absorbing rounds of punishment from a tireless, motivated Chisora.

Through 12 rounds of action that amounted to the longest fight of his career, Helenius was simply ineffective. Though never a svelte fighter, Helenius entered the ring pudgy and left it exhausted and battered, very fortunate to cling to the zero in his loss column.

From the start Chisora chased down the typically fleet-footed Helenius, moving quickly inside and combining windmill hooks with body punches that tested the Finn’s resolve immediately. Helenius responded initially with his sharp jab, a powerful tool that has sent weaker opponents to the canvas and initially slowed Chisora’s advance.

Still, over the first three rounds Chisora combined his rapid pressure with head movement that often left Helenius’ lead hanging in the wind and scored consistently with thundering right hands that slipped around his opponent’s guard. Chisora inflicted considerable damage to Helenius early, walking through Helenius’ power shots almost unscathed.

The Finn seemed overwhelmed. Without a consistently successful jab he had no foundation for the 1-2 combinations that are the bread and butter of his style. By consequence, he almost totally neglected the tremendous right body hook that served him so well in earlier fights and struggled to load up on any right hand shots at all.

In his previous loss to UK prospect Tyson Fury, Chisora demonstrated an exceptional chin but stamina that left something to be desired, with almost nothing in the tank by the later rounds of the fight. Against Helenius, the chin was more solid than ever, with Chisora unflinchingly marching through barrages to respond with even more accurate shots.

As for fatigue, Chisora showed he’s learned from his earlier loss. Starting in the fifth round he eased up on the gas at times and started to box, firing his own jabs and effectively keeping Helenius at bay despite the Brit’s five inch height disadvantage.

But rather than exploit the chance to take the fight to Chisora with any sort of determination, Helenius seemed to hang back and lick his wounds. The Finn relied on the same 1-2 combination that was alternately either failing to puncture his opponent’s defense or make any sort of real progress in slowing Chisora. All the while, Chisora was preserving energy and reloading for more.

Helenius previously been able to wait out the pressure fighters he’s faced, letting them wear down from constant assaults and reprisals before launching a final barrage that would end the night early. That was the case with Samuel Peter and Siarhei Liakohvich. But it wouldn’t be for Chisora.

Chisora never seemed to wear down. In fact, it was Helenius who appeared unfit and sluggish. While the crowd anxiously awaited any sort of home run punch from Helenius, Chisora boxed and then shrugged off punches to get inside. There were exchanges that scored for both men, but when Helenius did connect, Chisora responded in kind with no hesitation.

In the sixth, a tiring Helenius began to ineffectively clench Chisora, leaving his opponent’s hands free to deliver three severe uppercuts that snapped the Finn’s head skyward. It was a shocking visual to see the prospect flopping about like a rag doll. And a clear indicator of the direction of the remaining rounds.

While there would be significant trading of punches and punishment, Helenius was only able to respond to every fifth or sixth flurry that he was hit with. Chisora landed seemingly constant right hands to the head of Helenius throughout the later rounds. Helenius was so spent that when the braggadocios Chisora dropped his guard, stuck out his tongue, and offered himself up for a punch in the ninth, Helenius was either too dazed or too scared to take a solid swing.

The Finnish crowd that had boisterously sang the nation’s anthem and responded to Helenius’ entrance with patriotic fervor and delight was reduced to desperate shouts in the championship rounds. It was all too clear what was happening to everyone, it seems, but the judges.

As Helenius slumped in the corner at the end of the tenth, his trainer screamed in his face with manic urgency, desperate for his charge to show something. Helenius’ response was solid, as he mustered up whatever he had left to finally land some powerful right hands. But Chisora would stop for nothing, and responded with enough vigor to make any objective viewer forget the hometown fighter’s last-ditch efforts.

Objectivity be damned, though, this is boxing. The scorecards gave Helenius a split decision, with two showing it for him at 115-113, and one for Chisora of the same numbers.

The most telling indication that the judges were wrong appeared during the last minute of the fight. While Helenius was flailing desperately to get the knockout he’d need to win in any sensible world, his trainer Ulli Wegner was shown hunched over in the corner, hiding his face behind a towel and cringing, barely able to watch the potential failure of one of the heavyweight division’s top prospects.

Of course, the world is not very sensible and boxing definitely isn’t - so Helenius remains technically undefeated. Now, his handlers will likely think twice before putting him in the ring with such agile competition and we can probably expect a few tomato cans before the Klitschko name comes up again.

Chisora, meanwhile, ends the day as a more feared man who deserves top level competition, but also as a fighter with an undeserved loss. Most significantly for the division, he also leaves behind a fight plan for anyone who wants to take out one of the divisions most-feared prospects.

Point one on that plan? Don’t fight in Finland.