Tyson Fury too classy for Dereck Chisora
Tyson Fury declared himself the next big man worth watching out of England by out-boxing an overweight Dereck Chisora over 12 rounds to win the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles at Wembley Arena on Saturday night. Chisora had his moments courtesy of a powerful left hook and a few choice flurries but the Traveler looked relaxed and stayed busy throughout to secure an easy decision.
Chisora tipped the scales at an absurd 263 lbs. and it showed in the ring as he appeared gassed heading into the later rounds. A better-conditioned version of Chisora could make for an intriguing re-match but at his present weight he was ill-suited to going the full 12.
Fury on the other hand appeared in excellent shape and seemed comfortable in the ring, playing to his sizable contingent of supporters in the crowd at various times during the fight. Tyson started out boxing well and appeared too tall and technically sound for Chisora, who relied head movement and diving in with looping hooks to the head of the taller man.
Fury appeared on cruise control in the second round when a left hook from Dereck caught him square and appeared to hurt the Manchester native. Chisora pounced, following it up with a series of combinations including several heavy rights that landed. Fury wisely looked to tie up and landed one good right that held Chisora at bay briefly.
For a while fans saw excellent action, with Fury staying on the outside and Chisora walking through him to land his wild, wide punches. Fury thrilled his supporters by repeatedly penetrating Chisora’s guard with combinations but the British champ was undeterred and threatened to level the Traveler at any moment should he land cleanly.
Chisora looked to get inside frequently where Fury wisely took a page from heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko and tied up the smaller man, leaning on him and using his larger frame to wear him down. Despite his advantage in boxing skill Fury was often content to fight on the inside, where Chisora threw fewer and fewer punches as the fight wore on.
By the middle rounds Chisora was mostly tying up himself, unable to keep up the torrid pace and seemingly without an answer after Fury had survived several of his best onslaughts. The 10th round brought another ferocious flurry that had Fury backing up and briefly in peril but once again Chisora was unable to sustain the attack. His lack of conditioning and single-minded pursuit of the knockout made the last few rounds an ugly affair.
Neither man had ever been beyond the 9th before and the experience should serve them well. Overall the verdict of 118-111 and 117-112 twice was spot on and the action much better than expected, both welcome departures from the typical heavyweight title fight.
Fury showed a great deal of class in his first real test and looks like he’s got the talent to contend on the world stage. Saturday night hardly saw the best possible version of Chisora so it seems early to write him off, but perhaps he should count himself fortunate the Klitschko fights didn’t happen.
Fury is enormous but he remains a step below the brothers in terms of skill and athleticism. Doubtless he still has room to improve but there is no need to rush a title shot; we look forward to watching him climb the heavyweight ladder.