Tyson Fury retained his WBC world heavyweight title, brutally stopping Derek Chisora to set up a potential undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury, 34, kept his unbeaten record intact in front of 60,000 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Chisora, 38, was repeatedly hurt by the dominant champion, and the referee stopped the one-sided fight in the 10th round.
Usyk, the IBF, IBO, WBO, and WBA belt holder, was ringside in London.
It was Chisora’s 13th defeat in 46 fights, and his fourth in the last five.
The pair shook hands earlier this week and promised to go toe-to-toe in the first three minutes, with Chisora promising “the best first round the heavyweight game has ever seen.”
And, despite the cold conditions at an outdoor December night event in London, the two fighters attempted to provide the entertainment they had promised.
However, the fight was a mismatch because Fury was a level above his opponent, and he can now look forward to a potential undisputed heavyweight clash with Ukrainian Usyk in 2023.
Fury, who announced his retirement from boxing in April, has returned to the ring.
When asked about fighting Usyk, Fury responded, “Where’s the rabbit?”
Fury added as Usyk confronted him at the ropes: “You’re up next, Usyk, 15 stone little bodybuilding midget. Let’s get this party started, [Wladimir] Klitchsko.”
When Joyce arrived, Fury said: “Joe Joyce, a brilliant fighter, deserves a title fight, in my opinion. We’ll fight at Wembley if the rabbit [Usyk] doesn’t fight.”
However, Fury stated in a later interview with ESPN that he was having hand issues and may need surgery on his right elbow, which would take “about 6-8 weeks to heal.”
Fury had beaten Chisora by wide points in a fight for the British and Commonwealth titles in 2011, and again three years later when Chisora was retired by his corner at the end of the 10th round in a fight for the British and European belts.
Chisora was expected to deliver a career-defining performance and defy the bookmakers, who had pegged him as a 14-1 outsider.
However, by the second round, it was clear that this fight would go the same way as their previous two meetings.
Chisora attempted to force Fury back onto the ropes early on, but Fury landed a huge overhand right away and began to land at will from there.
In the third round, both men collapsed on the floor after losing their balance, but it didn’t matter because Fury took complete control.
Chisora gave it his all, as he has throughout his 15-year career, but was simply outclassed by Fury, whose shot selection, power, and ability allowed him to pick off the rounds with relative ease.
Two solid right hooks landed in the sixth and seventh rounds as Chisora continued to take a lot of punishment – the only question was whether he could land his own wonder shot.
He couldn’t, and a bad cut around his eye developed in the ninth round, before a brutal Fury uppercut in the next round signaled the end.
“I felt good, and I needed some rounds after not boxing since April. Take nothing away from Del Boy [Chisora], it was a pleasure to fight tonight, and he is a British folk hero.
“What a strong man. I fired shots at him that would have knocked anyone out.”
Following that, Fury led the crowd in a chant of “Oh, Derek Chisora.”
Chisora, whose own future is now in jeopardy, was gracious in defeat, adding: “Thank you so much, Tyson. I really appreciate it. We’re good friends.
Dubois survives huge scare to retain WBA (regular) belt
Earlier, Britain’s Daniel Dubois came back from three knockdowns in the first round to defeat South Africa’s Kevin Lerena and retain his WBA (regular) heavyweight title.
The 25-year-old was facing his second defeat of the season and appeared to have suffered a knee injury in the first three minutes.
However, after regaining his composure in the second round, Dubois, who has won 18 of his 19 fights inside the distance, caught Lerena in the third round and knocked him out.
When Lerena stood up, it was the cue for Dubois to unleash a barrage of punches, sensing this was his moment.
A truly brilliant uppercut rocked Lerena’s head back and the South African was on the verge of falling again when referee Howard Foster intervened.
Dubois would have lost not only his WBA regular belt, but also any future fights with Usyk if he had lost.
It was an outstanding recovery, as he demonstrated great character in turning this fight around in such dramatic fashion.
“It was incredible. He grabbed the top of my head. “I felt my knee go,” Dubois said to BT Sport Box Office.
“But I have a warrior’s heart, and I just thought, calm down.”
source nsemwokrom.com
