By Adam Baskin: Derek Chisora is expected to bring war tonight from round one with his highly anticipated rematch against Kubrat Pulev on DAZN at the O2 Arena in London.
For many boxing fans, the 38-year-old Chisora (32-12, 23 KOs) is too old, too shot, and too limited in cardio to defeat former two-time heavyweight world title challenger Pulev (29-2, 14 KOs).
Chisora is motivated to win, as his promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted that he couldn’t sustain his current cushy situation as a headliner if he keeps losing at the rate he’s been.
The famous British heavyweight Chisora has lost his last three fights, and he’s expected to lose tonight against the 41-year-old Pulev.
Can Chisora still fight at top level?
I don’t know if you can blame Chisora’s problems on age, as he was never a great fighter even when he was young. He always led with his face and threw wide shots that took too long to reach their target.
Chisora does possess the power to defeat Pulev, but he will have to land something big enough to hurt him. That’s not easy because Pulev has a good chin and is tall at 6’4 1/2″.
“We’ve been there ups and downs, rolling around on the floor, we fought each other, I’ve managed him, I’ve been there for pretty much all his sparring sessions. I know Derek Chisora very, very well,” said David Haye to DAZN Boxing during Friday’s weigh-in.
“I saw him upstairs, and he’s in good form, as good form as you could possibly hope for Derek Chisora. He’s calm,” said Haye.
“He wants to fight on the top level, doesn’t he?” said Darren Barker about Chisora’s focus with his career.
“He’s lost his last three fights, two fights against [Joseph] Parker, Usyk. He [Chisora] showed great energy and great effort. I thought he won the first Parker fight, and I thought he lost the second one. I thought he beat Usyk as well.
“These are top-tier fighters. Parker is WBO former heavyweight champion. Usyk is the current unified heavyweight champion of the world. He [Chisora] pushed him to the wire. Seven rounds to 5, he lost that fight on two scorecards.
Is Pulev too good for Chisora?
“He’s world-class, he’s to take that next step, but he needs to beat Pulev. Pulev is no random European fringe fighter. The only guys to beat him were Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua.
“He was in the fights. I remember the first round with Wladimir; he [Pulev] hit him with a lead left hook and buzzed him. I remember thinking, ‘Okay, he’s in the fight.’ Both Klitschko and AJ knew they were in a fight [against Pulev].
“Both of them at the end of the fight, they knew they had a fight. Against the fringe level, Pulev chews through them. Look at his record. But against a prime Derek Chisora, who is motivated and in shape, you’re going to get a real, real war,” said Haye.
