By Ben Solly: Vitali Klitschko was forced to go all 12 rounds for only the fourth time in his professional career by a spirited performance from Derek Chisora. In what was the 10th straight defence of his WBC Heavyweight title, Klitschko was pushed every step of the way by Chisora, who bravely came forward at every opportunity.
Tensions were running high between both fighters even before the two met in the ring, with the fight delayed due to Wladamir Klitschko raising doubts over the hand wrappings of Chisora. After a short delay both fighters met in the centre of the ring, with Vitali immediately heading towards the challenger, resulting in a tense stare down before the two were broken up. Chisora was clearly upset over the delay and showed his dismay at being forced to wait by spitting water at the younger of the two Klitschko brothers.
From the outset the size difference between the two fighters was painfully obvious. Whilst there was only a couple of pounds difference in weight, Klitschko’s towering six foot seven frame dwarfed Chisora’s six foot one. The opening round was reminiscant of the great heavyweight battles of old between Ali and Frazier, with Chisora’s busy head movement and come forward style replicating the tactics of Smokin’ Joe against the taller Ali. Klitschko adopted his familiar jab and move style, circling Chisora and keeping out of range of any meaningful punches.
The first two rounds played out in similar fashion. Vitali moving well, picking off Chisora with the jab at every opportunity and landing straight rights when the challenger jumped in with wild hooks. Midway through the second round, Chisora walked onto the end of a beautiful short left hook followed by a stiff right hand that caught his attention, but still kept walking through the punches of Klitschko.
Round three saw Chisora abandon the head movement that had served him well in the first two rounds, allowing Vitali to land jabs at will, and begin to land some stinging right hands and mixing in some uppercuts. After a stern talking to by his corner, Chisora was told to use the jab to set up his work and the results were immediate. The London based boxer began to stick his stiff jab on the chest of the champion and start to provide some meaningful pressure to forty year old Klitschko, doing just enough to pinch the round.
The Ukrainian champion responded in the fifth round by upping his work rate and began to pick off Chisora at range. The work of Chisora throughout the round became a little predictable, with his guard high and trying to get to the inside. However, the one punch attempts of Chisora were easily slipped and again picked off from the outside.
Chisora went back to the jab himself in the sixth and again, the results were immediate, as the challenger began to force the pace, with the jab setting up some hurtful hooks to the body that immediately caught the attention of Vitali. The body shots of Chisora were key to his success in the sixth and the beginning of the seventh round, as the hooks to the body began to land with more ease to the huge body of Klitschko. However, Chisora took his foot off the gas and allowed Vitali to steal the round in the last minute with a flurry of straight punches.
Again Chisora was told to commit to the jab to set up his work and once again, the success was immediate, with the jab forcing Klitschko onto the back foot, and not allowing him to be set before he threw his own shots. The two traded vicious hooks throughout the eighth, but it was Chisora who was getting the best of the exchanges, forcing Vitali to hold on towards the end of the round.
As the two tired, the work rate dropped considerably, allowing Vitali to win the ninth, tenth and eleventh rounds without ever really causing Chisora any real problems, simply outworking chisora with jabs.
Chisora knew that he needed a knockout in the final round, and although he managed to land some telling right hands to the visable marked body of Klitschko, and win the round, it was not enough to win the fight.
Klitschko was given a unanimous decision by all three judges by margins of 118-110, 118-110 and 119-111. The scorecards certainly did not reflect the true story of the fight. Chisora gave Vitali his hardest fight since his loss to Lennox Lewis back in 2003, with his work to the body clearly slowing down the big Ukrainian in the later stages of the fight. Whilst Chisora can take heart at being one of only four men to take Klitschko the distance, the performance is one that could have been so much more had he utilised his jab in every round rather than in sporadic spells.
Chisora, now 15-3 has enhanced his reputation sizeable with such a competitive performance, proving many critics wrong. He may also have positioned himself into a return fight with Wladamir Klitschko after the spitting incident seemed to anger the younger brother enough to warrant both brothers calling for a rematch to knock him out.
For Klitschko, now 44-2 the fight was the first time he showed every one of his forty years. Chisora’s commitment to the body was obvious from the outset, noticeably slowing Vitali in the later rounds, something that David Haye will be ready to pounce on if their reported bout later on this year is agreed.
February 18, 2012
