Chisora faces unbeaten Andriy Rudenko on Feb. 1st

By Boxing News - 01/02/2014 - Comments

chisora34By Scott Gilfoid: EBU heavyweight champion Dereck Chisora (19-4, 13 KO’s) will face little known 2nd tier heavyweight Andriy Rudenko (24-0, 16 KO’s) next month at the Copper Box Arena in London, United Kingdom. In the press release to announce the fight, the 6’0″ Rudenko is described as a “Big-hitting Klitschko clone,”, but in looking at his small size, slow hand speed and incredibly poor opposition on Rudenko’s resume, I’d have to say that he has absolutely nothing in common with Wladimir Klitschko other than him coming from the same country.

Rudenko looks more like a clone of Chisora’s opponent Edmund Gerber, but not as good as him. I don’t rate Gerber as a good fighter, so this looks like another mismatch for Chisora in putting him in with an undersized guy with an inflated resume of empty wins. We’re talking about a fighter who isn’t ranked in the top 15 by any of the sanctioning bodies.

Rudenko has been fighting weak opposition since he turned pro in 2006, and it’s hard to understand why he never stepped it up all these years to face better opponents. I mean, if you’re not going to step up at 8 years as a pro then what’s the point in fighting? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Chisora’s presser also describes the Rudenko fight as keeping him in line for a title shot next year. I think in theory that’s correct, as Chisora is ranked #6 WBC and #14 WBA, but I seriously doubt that Chisora will get a title shot in 2015. I take that back. Chisora won’t get a title shot in 2015 unless he becomes the mandatory challenger. Will it happen? Nah, I don’t see it happening in 2015, 2016, 2017 or 2018.

The only way I see someone taking a chance at facing Chisora is if he’s the mandatory challenger and they’ve got no choice but to fight him in order to keep the title. I don’t see Chisora becoming the mandatory by next year, not if he has to actually fight for that position against a good heavyweight. The World Boxing Council isn’t just going to hand Chisora the mandatory spot to face the eventual winner of the Chris Arreola vs. Bermane Stiverne fight for the vacant WBC heavyweight title. Chisora is going to have to fight someone like Deontay Wilder for that spot, and no way is Chisora going to win that fight.

I don’t think Arreola or Stiverne are going to give Chisora an optional title defense either. After how Chisora acted before his fight with Vitali in 2012, with him slapping Vitali, spitting water in Wladimir’s face, and then going at it with David Haye after the fight at the post-fight press conference, I just don’t see Chisora getting picked out as an optional title defense. As such, I can’t see Chisora getting a title shot.

As far as the Chisora-Rudenko fight goes, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Rudenko changed out for someone else in the next couple of weeks and that fighter changed to someone a week or so before the fight.



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