By John F. McKenna (McJack): Anything can happen in a heavyweight championship fight. We only have to look back into history to see how many times a champion was defeated by a contender who seemingly had no chance for victory. Jack Dempsey was thought to be in physical danger when he challenged Jess Willard for the title in 1919. The same could be said of James Braddock when he fought for the title held by Max Baer. Sonny Liston and Mike Tyson were thought to be invincible. Leon Spinks defeated Muhammad Ali for the title having fought only seven professional fights. Being fully aware of what has happened in the past in heavyweight championship contests, we attempt to make intelligent predictions as to the outcome of a given fight.

We often hear the claim by those who are going to challenge either of the Klitschko brothers that they are going to shock the world. On April 19, 2011 Derek Chisora, AKA “Del Boy” is going to get his chance to “Shock the world”. Chisora outwardly appears confident as to his chances of defeating Wladimir Klitschko, AKA “Dr. Steelhammer”.
Chisora has very little professional experience with a 14 – 0 record and 9 knockouts. The fact that Chisora is only 27 years old, has good upper body movement, excellent hand speed and moves well on his feet are all in “Del Boy’s” favor. Chisora holds victories over Sam Sexton and Danny Williams.

The down side for Chisora is that Danny Williams was a shot fighter and Sam Sexton was able to land repeatedly with his jab. Being susceptible to a left jab is a fatal flaw when fighting Wladimir Klitschko, who possesses one of the best left jabs of any heavyweight champion in history. In addition “Del Boy” does not appear to have one punch KO power, which he would need in the event he is able to get inside on the 6’6” Klitschko.

Dr. Steelhammer has blossomed under Emanuel Steward and seems to improve with every fight. Steward is a master strategist and spends much time analyzing the style of Wlad’s opponents. Do not be surprised if Klitschko adds to his already impressive offensive arsenal for this fight. Chisora’s style will be analyzed and reanalyzed by the Klitschko brain trust who are known to take no opponent lightly. The fact that Wladimir is 34 years old should not hurt him in this fight. Heavyweights mature more slowly than fighters in lower weight divisions and Klitschko is always in superb condition.

It is wishful thinking by some who think that “Dr. Steelhammer” is suddenly going to get old. Those who are predicting his demise never liked him anyway. Like him or not, Wladimir Klitschko has been Heavyweight Champion of the World for nearly six years and historically is the longest reigning heavyweight champion for the IBF, WBO and IBO titles. His chin is not going to shatter like glass when he gets hit as so many of his detractors are hoping for. A lot of the problems Vlad had earlier in his career went away when he brought Emanuel Steward on board. Emanuel Steward rates “Dr. Steelhammer” as one of the hardest punchers he has ever seen in the heavyweight division.

As stated above, anything can happen in a heavyweight championship fight. That is why rematch clauses are built into contracts. One of the reasons that there are huge upsets is the fact that contenders are sometimes taken lightly. I do not think that is going to happen in this fight. Klitschko should not have s significant problem with Chisora. Many times when a contender comes up with a game plan, that game plan goes out the window as soon as he gets hit. Joe Louis had the best quote on that subject when he said: “Everybody has a plan until he gets hit.”

Wlad Klitschko by late round stoppage.