by Ian Goodwin: At tomorrow night’s anticipated “Bad Blood” event at the London Excel Arena, promoted by Frank Warren and Boxnation, domestic Heavyweight rivals Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora meet each other for a mandatory world title challenge, and Billy Joe Saunders defends his titles against Chris Eubank Jr. in two seemingly close and (hopefully) exciting fights.
The official weigh in and final face off took place this afternoon at a (half full) cinema in London’s Leicester Square. The official weights for those fighters:
Tyson Fury: 18st 12lbs / 264 lbs
Dereck Chisora: 17st 3lbs / 241lbs
Chris Eubank Jr: 11st 5lbs / 159lbs
Billy Joe Saunders: 11st 5lbs /159lbs
Tyson Fury interestingly weighed in fully clothed in a jacket, hat & boots. Within the past two weeks Fury was quoted that he was aiming for a sub-17st appearance; maybe there was a fit and conditioned 240lb man in a 20lb coat, or maybe Fury isn’t in the fine shape we’ve heard about in the media.
During the face off, a relaxed and smiling Chisora showed off the title belts at stake, played to the crowd and offered Fury a handshake. Fury refused saying little more than “You got beat last time, you’re getting knocked out again”.
There was more tension between Saunders and Eubank Jr. as they squared up on stage. There were muted ‘boos’ from the audience as Eubank weighed in contesting with warm cheers & applause for Saunders.
Frank Warren stopped both fighters from getting too close, as a silent, focused and smirking Eubank stared at Saunders, who was talking away trying to get a reaction without success.
I’m unsure if it was a display of confidence or nervousness on either side, but to me it felt like they were both barely hiding their nerves about the fight and feeling toward each other.
A largely unremarkable event revealing little about any of the fighters involved; hopefully the drama in the ring tomorrow will meet the expectations of the build up.
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