The Tyson Fury vs Dereck Chisora trilogy

Tyson Fury was last seen in action back in April, when he knocked out mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte. The WBC heavyweight champion claimed he was retired after a sixth-round TKO victory over Whyte, but reversed course with claims he would fight Dereck Chisora, a heavyweight gatekeeper, for a third time.

The talks of a third fight between Fury and Chisora had come up in early August, and Fury had said earlier that he intended to face Chisora again before he retired from boxing, a possibility which has been coming up once a year. "I’ve decided to come back to boxing because I can be the first heavyweight world champion in history to have two trilogies," he said. "I’d always say I’d fight Derek Chisora at the end of my career."

Fury had recently been in talks to have a blockbuster fight with Anthony Joshua, but the two were unable to finalize a deal in time for a year-end encounter. Joshua accepted Fury’s proposed 60% to 40% split, but the champion claimed recently that his self-imposed deadline had passed. In reality, a source said, Fury and Chisora were already in their third week of negotiations as the deal neared the finish line.

Soon, Frank Warren, the co-promoter for WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, confirmed that his boxer will face division veteran Dereck Chisora this Saturday, December 3.

Though Chisora is not one of the names most expected by fans to fight Fury, as his ranking of 14 with the WBC leaves a lot of unasked questions, however, with two of the UK’s most popular fighters taking to the ring, it is sure to be a huge event.

When they first met for the British and Commonwealth titles in 2011, Fury emerged victorious by unanimous decision in a back-and-forth affair. In their 2014 rematch for the European and British titles, Fury was completely dominant and forced Chisora’s team to end the bout after round ten.

Though few are very excited by the prospect of a third bout between the pair as a result of these two previous meetings, it will complete the trilogy of their long-standing rivalry, with Fury’s more recent triumph coming a year before he became world champion for the first time against Wladimir Klitschko. 

The 38-year-old Chisora has seen his stock rise within the heavyweight division, having beaten Kubrat Pulev in July after a run of defeats in recent years. 

With Oleksandr Usyk, who twice beat Anthony Joshua, latterly to retain his three heavyweight titles, out until next year as he recovers from injuries, hopes of unification with Fury were also shelved.

A matchup with Chisora should be a prelude to a Fury-Usyk showdown next year. It is also a major let-down after the Joshua bout was teased for weeks as negotiations played out through the media.

It will now be Fury vs Chisora 3 that takes centre stage at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Saturday.

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