VITALI Klitschko defended his WBC heavyweight title with a points victory over Britain’s Dereck Chisora in Munich. The veteran champion did not have things all his own way against his game challenger but was still awarded the decision comfortably with two judges scoring the fight 118-110 and a third scoring it 119-111.
Klitschko (now 44-2) fought much of the fight on the backfoot, with Chisora (15-3) not afraid to come forward from the first bell, but the Ukrainian’s reach advantage made it too hard for the Briton to land much of significance.
Klitschko was hardly peppering Chisora with shots either, but he did land the cleaner work and often timed his best moments for the final minute of rounds to leave a favourable impression.
His usually lethal jab was strangely absent though and his movement not as quick as boxing fans have become accustomed to, which will call into question whether or not he has much left in the tank, especially in a division where credible opponents who could generate a big box office draw are lacking.
Klitschko has never been knocked down in his career and still showed flashes of his quality, particular with his right hook, but at 40-years of age, his best days may well be behind him.
Chisora came into the fight as a massive 10/1 underdog but performed above expectations and never looked in serious danger of being knocked out – becoming just the third man to go the distant with Klitschko.
Indeed he never even looked like being knocked out either, but it is was a poor fight, with neither man landing more than the odd shot of note to get the sell-out crowd of 13 000 excited.
Chisora might have walked away from the ring with the respect of the German public too for his performance, but he was roundly booed after instead spitting water in the face of Klitschko’s brother Wladimir just before the fight, just a day after being fined $50 000 for slapping Vitali during a face-off at the weigh-in.
Chisora was unhappy with the younger Klitschko for coming into his dressing room before the fight and ordering the fighter nickname ‘Del Boy’ to redo his wraps after his trainer had tape put on his fingers before the bandages.
After the fight both camps exchanged nasty words in the ring, although it is hard to know if the animosity was genuine, or if it was a mere publicity stunt to help open the door for a potential fight between Wladimir and Chisora or a rematch with Vitali in the future.
“Chisora put in a solid performance today but as a person, I have no respect for him,” Vitali said in a ringside interview.
Chisora said he was hoping for another crack at a Klitschko after the fight, and while he accepted his defeat he also said: “the only reason I lost was due to a lack of experience.”
A ringside David Haye, who was highly unimpressive in losing to Wladimir on points last summer, also said he would like to come out of retirement to fight Vitali, who he said “wouldn’t see the 12 rounds,” if he took him on.
The heavyweight division is certainly crying out for a top quality world title fight, but neither Chisora nor Haye seriously looked like beating one of the brothers when presented with their original opportunity and the desire of boxing fans to see more of the same is highly questionable.
Indeed, it may be that father time is the only thing that can break the stranglehold the Klitschko brothers have on the heavyweight division. (Eurosport)