Derek Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) kept his career alive for a bit longer, defeating #12 Fringe contender Otto Wallin (27-3, 15 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator on Saturday night at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
The victory makes Chisora, 41, the mandatory for IBF champion Daniel Dubois. It’s unclear why the IBF made Chisora-Wallin a world title eliminator, given that both are ranked well below other contenders. This should have been just a regular fight because neither of these guys are ranked near the top of the IBF’s rankings.
Chisora dropped Wallin twice in rounds 9 and 12 with looping right hands that looked more like off-balance knockdowns, but the referee ruled them as legit.
The scores
117-109
114-112
116-110
Round 1: Chisora mostly came forward, eating shots from Wallin and mauling on the inside without landing anything significant. It was a clear round by Wallin. The 41-year-old Chisora looking all of his age.
Round 2: Wallin caught Chisora with two big lefts as he was coming in late in the round. The second left appeared to hurt Chisora, who fell into a clinch. It was a clear round by Wallin.
Round 3: The referee warned Chisora for rabbit punching early in the round. Derek tried to play it off, arguing that he was being held, but it was clear that he’d intentionally been hitting Wallin behind the head. Chisora came back to land several nice right hands to take the round. Wallin was mostly moving and throwing weak shots. He doesn’t look confident. It’s clear why Chisora chose Wallin. He has no power.
Round 4: Derek was the aggressor throughout the round, throwing slow, looping shots that mostly missed, but enough of them landed on the head of Wallin to take the round. Wallin connected with some nice lefts, but he was letting himself get backed up to the ropes too frequently.
Round 5: Wallin landed some powerful left hands to the head of Chisora late in the round. One of them opened a cut over the right eye of Chisora, who looked uncomfortable as the round ended. A clear round for Wallin.
Round 6: Chisora’s eye is bleeding badly from two cuts. The ringside doctor examined Derek’s cut and followed the action to continue. It was one-sided round, with Wallin hitting Chisora at will. The referee says the cut was caused by a clash of heads. It looked more like it was caused by a left hand by Walllin.
Round 7: Wallin controlled the first 2:50 second of the round, picking Chisora off with left hands and jabs. In the final 10 seconds, Chisora threw a flurry of shots trying to steal the round. Most of the shots were blocked, but the judges may have been impressed enough to give him the rounds. This was another Wallin round based on his control.
Round 8: In the early round, Chisora flurried on Wallkin against the round, landing several hard shots but mostly missing. Out of the entire furry, only three punches landed. The referee stopped the action to warn Chisora for throwing low blows after he hit Wallin twice. Wallin finishes strong.
Round 9: Chisora scores an early knockdown that looked like a more like trip, but the referee rules it a knockdown. For the rest of the round, Chisora was tired and getting hit a lot.
Round 10: Wallin lands left hands at will against a tired, bleeding Chisora, who did nothing in the round. Chisora frequently played possum against the ropes but threw nothing, looking exhausted and very old. Chisora’s right eye is bleeding like a sieve.
Round 11: Derek is giving ground to Wallin, throwing wild shots but missing and getting worked over by the big Swede. I don’t like Chisora’s body language.
Round 12: In the final seconds of the round, Chisora throws a flurry of shots, dropping an off-balance Wallin with a right to the head. It looked like Wallin was off balance, but the referee ruled it a knockdown. There wasn’t much landed from Chisora in his flurry, but the activity knocked Wallin off balance where he was then dropped.
Results
– Middleweight Sofiane Khati (18-5, 4 KOs) stopped Nathan Heaney (18-2-1, 6 KOs) in the seventh round. Khati dropped Heaney with two right hands moments after the 35-year-old had lost his mouthpiece. The referee stopped the action to allow Heaney’s mouthpiece to be reinserted. Heaney looked badly hurt and gamely fought back in a brutal exchange with Khati, but the referee, Bob Williams, had no choice but to wave it off. Heaney was getting shelled heavily against the ropes in the final sequence. The time of the stoppage was at 1:08. The loss for Heaney was his second in a row, and it put his career in bad shape.
– British, Commonwealth, and WBC International silver light welterweight champion Jack Rafferty (25-0, 16 KOs) defeated Reece MacMillan (17-2, 2 KOs) by a seventh-round technical knockout. Rafferty, 29, hurt MacMillan with a right hand that backed him up against the ropes. He then nailed him again, resulting in MacMillan’s corner throwing in the towel. The time of the stoppage was at the 1:37 mark. MacMillan had hurt the final seconds of the sixth and was being shelled by Rafferty as the bell sounded. The fight arguably should have been stopped after the round, but MacMillan’s corner let him come out for the seventh.
– Light heavyweight Zach Parker (26-1, 18 KOs) won an unimpressive 10-round unanimous decision over Mickhael Diallo ( 21-2-2, 18 KOs) in a blood bath. Both fighters were cut, with Parker getting the worst of it with a gash over his right eye. Referee Victor Loughlin was covered with blood. The scores were 98-92, 98-93 and 97-94. An exhausted Parker, 30, was worn from pressure that was put on him by Diallo and falling down repeatedly. He was lucky that Diallo wasn’t a bigger puncher.
– British featherweight champion Zak Miller (16-1, 3 KO) defeated Commonwealth champ Masood Abdulah (11-1, 7 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision. The scores were 114-114, 115-114, and 115-113.
– 6’7″ heavyweight prospect Lewis Williams (2-0, 1 KO) put on a masterclass, defeating Christian Uwaka (1-5, 1 KO) by a one-sided four-round points decision. The score was 40-36. Williams, 27, hit Uwaka at will with shots and did not have to deal with much in return from the overmatched opponent.
