By Byron Wallin: Firstly, let me make the point clearly that I do not for one second believe that either newly crowned British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (15-0, 10 KOs) or former champion Derek Chisora (14-1, 9 KOs) will ever set the world heavyweight scene alight.
However, both men put on a great display of passion and courage inside the ring this past Saturday night in a fight that British heavyweight and indeed heavyweight boxing in general badly needed. The fight was incredibly exciting throughout, and although Fury was largely in control there was always a sense that Chisora may find the knockout punch, as he seemed to have Fury hurt relatively badly in the second round.
Now please contrast this with the exploits of former WBA Heavyweight champion David Haye (25-2, 23 KOs) over the past few years, who has been largely inactive, and when he has fought they have been been fights against opponents who are completely over matched (Audley Harrison for one) with almost no chance of victory.
When he did finally step it up and take on the dominant Heavyweight of this era, the manner in which he lost showed a lack of heart, but what was far worse were the embarrassing excuses that followed, a point at which I lost all respect for the self proclaimed Hayemaker.
I am a complete realist, and I like to think of myself without bias, so I would just like to add that David Haye would easily bang out both Fury and Chisora, probably inside the first few rounds, and he is a far more talented boxer and athlete. However, that is beside the point.
Boxing should not be about hand picking opponents you know that you can beat to enhance your record in search of greater riches. It should be about having the heart, courage and desire to fight those in and around your level, those who challenge you, and if one is brave enough, to attempt to defy the odds, by taking on someone who no one gives you a hope in hell of defeating but you believe you can.
Finally, if the champion does prove his worth by defeating you, at least have the grace and dignity to admit the better man won, and bow out with your head held high.
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