By Barry Holbrook: Dereck ‘Delboy’ Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs) must take it to the highly skilled pound-for-pound fighter Oleksandr Usyk (17-0, 13 KOs) and make it “horrible” for him if he’s to win on October 31st, says British promoter, Eddie Hearn.
Chisora, 36, has no chance of beating Usyk by boxing him and matching his skills. That won’t work for Chisora, and he knows that. He’s got to take the fight to Usyk, not let him breathe, and try and land a big shot to knock him out.
WBO heavyweight mandatory Usyk, 33, and Chisora will be shown live on DAZN in the United States and on Sky Box Office in the K this Saturday from the Wembley Arena in London, England.
There won’t be fans present for the Usyk-Chisora fight because of the COViD-19 precautions, but Usyk isn’t worried about it. He points out that he’s fought many times in front of small crowds during his amateur days not long ago.
Hearn wants Chisora to pressure Usyk
“This is the potential to watch one of the greatest fighters [Oleksandr Usyk] of our generation, and if Delboy can do it, it’ll be one of the greatest wins by a British heavyweight potentially ever,” said Eddie Hearn on social media.
“I think Delboy is a massive underdog in the fight, but you know what? Behind closed doors, it throws up some weird stuff.
“You got Usyk; his best buddy Lomachenko just got beat. Is the mojo a little bit low in the camp? But Delboy has got to get inside, get on his chest, and make it horrible for him.
“One thing is for sure, Delboy has the engine to go in for 12 rounds against anybody, but he is going to get hit at angles he didn’t know existed. But I tell you, Delboy has worked hard for this fight,” said Hearn.
The only chance that Chisora has to beat Usyk is to put it on him from the first bell and not let him get a breather. Chisora might not have the proper cardio to fight at the pace that he needs to beat Usyk without tiring, and there’s not much he can do about that.
We saw Tony Bellew, Mairis Briedis, and Michael Hunter all fade in the second half of their fights with Usyk in the past. If those guys couldn’t handle the fast pace that Usyk sets, it’s difficult to imagine Chisora doing it.
Haye says Dereck will put it on Usyk
“He’s fighting a guy that is arguably one of the best cruiserweights in history,” David Haye said to Sky Sports Boxing about Chisora facing Usyk.
“A guy that has won every single belt, Olympic champion, world champion, pound-for-pound top five in everyone’s book against Dereck Chisora, who got knocked out by Dillian Whyte a couple of years ago.
“It’s a massive hurdle for him [Chisora] to overcome, but he’s going to put something on Usyk’s lap that he hasn’t seen before,” predicted Haye.
Chisora’s manager David Haye isn’t bashful about letting Usyk know their game plan for Saturday. But there’s no point in trying to disguise what Chisora will be attempting to do against the 2012 Olympic gold medalist and former undisputed cruiserweight world champion Usyk.
Chisora has to take the fight to Usyk the entire fight and try not to get outmaneuvered like he was in his loss to Agit Kabayel in 2017. Kabayel isn’t the greatest mover, yet he could still make Chisora look like a plodder in beating him.