Boxing is far removed from its heyday and the immortality of Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Sonny Liston, George Foreman and the like, but Saturday’s WBC heavyweight bout between Vitali Klitschko of Ukraine and Dereck Chisora of Great Britain proved the sport is far from dead.
It was a great fight on paper, as the 40-year-old Klitschko defeated the 28-year-old Chisora to retain his title for the tenth bout in a row since taking the belt from Corrie Sanders in 2004. The judges scored the hard-fought match 118–110, 118–110 and 119–111, as Klitschko made use of his longer reach and edge in experience to improve to 44–2 (40 KOs) in Munich, Germany.
The final score is just half the story, however.
At the weigh-in on Friday, Chisora (15–3, nine KOs) assured an intense title bout by slapping Klitschko across the face, angry sorority girl style, during the two’s stare-down at the scales. Even before that, the brash Chisora predicted an eighth round knockout and bragged to the media that he could “smell fear in (Klitschko’s) corner.”
Klitschko responded by saying that Chisora was “lacking appropriate manners” and that he was “really looking forward to teaching this young gentleman a lesson.”
That was just the beginning of the fireworks.
As Klitschko’s record was being announced just minutes before the start of the fight, Chisora spat a mouthful of water into the face of Klitschko’s younger brother Wladimir, who is the current WBA heavyweight super champion.
Then, after the elder Klitschko went on to the unanimous decision victory, apparently Chisora hadn’t had his full share of punches for the night. At the post-match news conference, fellow British boxer and former WBA champion David Haye called for a bout with Chisora. This led Chisora to get up from the podium, walk all the way to the back of the press room and exchange a few heated words with Haye before the two came to blows.
The brawl sent cameras flying, reporters scattering and the German police holding Chisora the next morning when he was detained at the Munich airport, interrogated for almost seven hours and charged with assault before being allowed to return to England.
Many boxing fans are disgusted by the drama surrounding Saturday night’s fight, and many are disgusted by Chisora’s actions in particular.
But the reality is, these kinds of theatrics are exactly what boxing needs.
Boxing has never been about having manners. The sport rose to prominence partly because of the controversial antics of Muhammad “The Louisville Lip” Ali. It embraced the insanity of Mike Tyson. Boxing is, and always has been, about much more than what goes on in the ring. Fans want to see hotheads, villains, rivalries and post-match scuffles. That’s what makes this sport so great.
Despite Chisora’s unsportsmanlike conduct over the weekend — and the fact that he reportedly threatened to shoot Haye during their altercation — boxing needs more characters like Chisora.
It needs more competitors equipped with a steel chin like Chisora, who is renowned for his toughness and ability to absorb blows, a characteristic that was on full display Saturday night. It needs more competitors with an inner fire like Chisora, who continued to charge at Klitschko through the final few rounds of the match, despite being noticeably battered by the Ukrainian’s fierce right hand.
Down the road, Chisora has the potential to become the next great heavyweight fighter. As immature as he may be, boxing needs this guy.
Boxing needs more guys like Vitali Klitschko, too, as he epitomizes the seemingly invincible boxer who fans identified with during the sport’s glory days. On Saturday, Klitschko fought from the fourth round onward with only his right hand after partially tearing a ligament in his left shoulder early in the contest. He continues to defy age inside the ring, and he isn’t afraid to engage in a bit of verbal sparring, either.
Of course, after his defeat, the arrogant Chisora wasted no time calling for a rematch with Klitschko and running his mouth once again.
“He won’t fight me again,” Chisora said at the press conference. “I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t fight me, either.”
This might be true, as one of the main reasons that Klitschko fought Chisora for the crown on Saturday was because Haye was unable to come to a contract agreement with the Ukrainian. Thus, one would suppose the next time Klitschko steps foot in the ring to defend his title, it will be against Hayes.
But for the sake of the sport, and for the sake of pure entertainment, Klitschko must give Chisora the rematch he deserves.
After that bout goes down, a legitimate fight between Chisora and Haye wouldn’t be too bad of an idea, either.
Reach the columnist at kjnewma2@asu.edu
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