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Usyk v Chisora: Preview and Prediction

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Usyk v Chisora: Preview and Prediction

 

It has been confirmed that the fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Dereck Chisora which was originally scheduled for May, will now take place on the 31st October.

The venue of the fight is yet to be confirmed and there will be no fans in attendance because of new government restrictions. Despite the absence of fans this fight promises to be an intriguing encounter, Usyk was the undisputed king of the cruiserweight division and has now made the jump up to the heavyweight division, he is looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Evander Holyfield and David Haye, by being both a cruiserweight and heavyweight champion and has set his sights on a fight with the winner of the WBO title fight between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev.

But before that he will have to overcome the vastly experienced and determined Dereck Chisora who made his debut thirteen years ago back in 2007. Del Boy will be hoping to cause a huge upset and trainer David Haye believes it is the perfect opportunity for Chisora to “gate crash the world top five.”

 

Oleksandr Usyk and his career so far

Usyk had an incredible record of 335 wins and 15 losses at amateur level which culminated in him winning gold at the London Olympics in 2012. He had also won gold at the World Championships in 2011 and the European Championships in 2008.

He turned professional in 2013, signing a promotional deal with the Klitschko brothers’ K2 Promotions. The Ukrainian fighter took no time in adapting to the professional scene and continued to show his class, by 2016 Usyk had won his first title at cruiserweight level by defeating Krzysztof Glowacki by unanimous decision, he followed this up with a series of defences including a very impressive victory over Michael Hunter before becoming undisputed champion in 2018. Since 2017 he has been coached by Anatoly Lomachenko who is the father of three weight champion Vasyl Lomachenko.

In his final bout at cruiserweight level, Usyk faced a former cruiserweight champion in Tony Bellew who was high on confidence following two successive wins over David Haye. It proved to be a difficult fight in the early stages for Usyk but gradually as the fight went on the Ukrainian fighter showed intelligence, adapted his jab and ultimately dismantled Bellew with a brutal knockout in the 8th round. This was a huge statement of intent and Usyk having completed his dominance of the Cruiserweight division set his sights on making the same impact in the heavyweight division.

Since moving up in weight, Usyk has faced just one opponent, continuing his unbeaten record with a victory and knockout over veteran fighter Chazz Witherspoon, who took the fight as a replacement for Tyrone Spong with just 4 days notice. There was a clear gulf in quality between Usyk and his opponent and there is no doubt that better preparation is needed for Usyk before he enters a world title fight and Derek Chisora should prove exactly that.

 

Dereck Chisora and his career so far

Chisora moved to Britain from Zimbabwe at the age of sixteen and fought in 20 amateur fights before turning professional in 2007. His first 14 fights were all victories and Chisora beat Danny Williams and Sam Sexton to win both the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles.

Chisora faced his first career defeat at the hands of the Gypsy king- Tyson Fury, who beat him comfortably by unanimous decision. Since then Chisora has faced some of the biggest names in the division, being beaten by the likes of Robert Helenius, Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Tyson Fury in a rematch and twice by Dillian Whyte. Whilst beating the likes of Malik Scott, Kevin Johnson, Carlos Takam and most recently David Price.

What this has shown is that so far in his career Dereck Chisora has been able to bounce back from defeat and has never been afraid to face the best that the division has to offer, however as of yet he is been unable to gain a victory against one of the real top hitters in the heavyweight division. He will be hoping this fight is a chance to change his fortune in the ring, particularly now that he has the help of former ring rival David Haye as his manager who believes that Chisora’s superior size and power will be too much for the Ukrainian Southpaw.

 

Tale of the tape

Oleksandr Usyk                                              

Age: 33

Height: 6ft3

Fights : 17

Wins : 17

Ko:  13

Losses: 0

Box rec rank: 5

 

Dereck Chisora

Age: 36

Height: 6ft 2

Fights : 41

Wins: 32

KO: 23

Losses: 9

Box rec rank: 9

 

Fight Prediction – Usyk by unanimous decision

It’s hard to look at the statistics and see anything other than an Usyk victory, I expect Dereck Chisora to give him a real test and one the biggest of his career so far. He will be looking to show his extra strength and size in the ring as a natural heavyweight and create a real war with Usyk. He also has a wealth of experience and will have learnt a great deal from fighting some of the best fighters in the division. This is last chance saloon for Dereck Chisora and he will be determined to earn one last title shot.

However, I feel that Usyk’s movement and hand speed will be too difficult for Chisora to deal with. Usyk is a very intelligent fighter who likes to work out his opponent in the early stages of fights, ultimately I feel Usyk will slowly ware Chisora down and will either get a late stoppage or cruise to a decision on fight night.

 

We hope you enjoyed this article ‘Usyk v Chisora: Preview and Prediction’. Who do you think will win the fight on October 31st? Let us know!

 

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Kurt is an MA Sports Journalism Graduate from Sheffield Hallam University. He is a big Newcastle United fan. Twitter- KurtLeyland1998 Email : [email protected]

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