The weeks leading up to tonight's heavyweight title clash between Britain's promising Derek Chisora and the legendary Vitali Klitschko, were filled with controversy and hyped up shenanigans, not least of which were aggravated by Chisora. In this respect tonight was no different. Audiences wouldn't have been blamed for expecting antics during the night, but it all started before the fight had even began.
Whilst both boxers were still in their dressing rooms, there were rumours that Chisora had stated he would not be fighting. After further investigations it transpired that in fact this was due to an exchange of words following complaints from the Klitschko camp concerning the wraps on Chisora's hands. Whilst both parties claimed to have been airing on the right side of the rules regarding the situation, it was eventually resolved.
Despite being delayed by almost half an hour, after Cristina Perry's rendition of 'Jar of Hearts', it was finally time to see if Derek Chisora was really made of sterner stuff, or if it was simply beggars belief that he could escape the inevitable barrage that was to come his way via Vitali Klitschko. However, there was still one more twist in the thickening plot between the two. Prior to the start, Chisora approached Vitali's younger sibling, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, and proceeded to spit in his face. For a moment it looked as though there might be a retaliation, that it all might be over before it had even reached its enthralling conclusion. The Ukrainian colossus simply stared on, an anger etched into his face that told of the embroiling struggle going on within his body as to whether or not he reacted. He didn't.
For all of his skills and talent, the only thing Chisora initially displayed was his ability to make a mockery of the sportsmanship side to the game. Nevertheless there was a fight to be had, and so without any further foolishness from the brash Brit, the first bell was sounded.
The first round looked to shape up very much as had been predicted, with Klitschko looking to set the pace with his trademark jab, and Chisora coming out of the blocks with the sort of hunger that was a tell-tale sign of the adrenaline coursing throughout his body. The Londoner threw many punches in the first round, though most of them were wild swings, more a plucky attempt at landing an astonishing knock-out than an actual mediated form of attack. Klitschko did enough to secure the round however by doing what he does best in stepping back, waiting for the opportune moment, and thundering shots into his opponents face.
The next few rounds were eerily similar to the first, with Chisora swinging hay makers at any given opportunity and Klitschko once again hiding behind his superior reach, occasionally exploding with his right hand. In the second, Chisora felt for the first time the raw power of a Klitschko punch, when he was caught with a straight right into his jaw. The crowd leapt into frenzy and for a second it looked as though he might wobble, but Chisora defied what had been predicted of him from the very start and defiantly regained his composure.
As the fight progressed Chisora began to do the unthinkable; look to gain the upper hand. Not only was he taking the odd shots that the old champion was unleashing, but he was actually fighting back. It was a sight that boxing fans have not seen in over ten years, as at times Klitschko had not slipped into his usual mantra of jab, hold, throw right and destroy, but instead was being forced into back peddling for his own safety. Chisora, the massive underdog, seemed to be doing what no other man has come close to doing in recent times; make Vitali Klitschko look his age. The champ took body shot after body shot from the challenger, and although he never looked in serious trouble, there was a definite air of human in him tonight as opposed to the usual machine-like terminator we have become accustomed to.
The 6th and 7th belonged to Chisora as he surged forward repeatedly. In the later stages of the 7th Klitschko began to assert dominance once more as his foe tired, but by this point we certainly had a fight on our hands. The 8th was a lot more fast paced than Klitschko would have liked and at times his defence was disorganised and dismayingly un-sturdy. Chisora again refused to fall for the same trick as every other Klitschko victim has done, and instead surged forward with random assaults, still throwing those huge right hooks that threatened but never really came to fruition.
There was slight controversy at the end of the 8th round where the current score cards should have been read. The judges however had not managed to tally quickly enough and the beginning of the 9th commenced. As though he had been injected with a lease of confidence Klitschko returned strongly, repeatedly hammering a Chisora who looked as though he might just have thrown everything at the Ukrainian already. At one point Chisora was caught with a quick, heavy flurry and once again the watching audience burst into raptures. Just as before though 'Del Boy' Chisora's chin prevailed, and at the end of the round he looked tired, but not in any serious danger of becoming number 41 on Vitali's list of knocked out opponents.
The latter rounds seemed to mirror the first few, merely at a slower pace. Chisora, exhausted from his endeavours in the earlier rounds, was reduced to marching backwards as Klitschko advanced, doing his best to duck and weave underneath that terrible jab whilst at the same time trying to inflict damage. There was no doubt at this point however that unless the valiant Brit could by some miracle muster up enough strength to knock out the Goliath stood in his path, he would inevitably lose on points. Klitschko it seemed, could sense this as his experience started to shine through. The whole time though there was an unprecedented air of caution about the champion, Chisora had given him a fight thus far that was for sure.
As the 12th round began both men touched gloves, a fitting tribute to both warriors for making it this far. As expected Chisora would have to launch everything he had left into chopping down Klitschko; he would either knock him out, or go out on his shield. Unfortunately it ended up being the latter, as the task of knocking out the man considered to be the best of his generation, was one obstacle too far.
Take nothing away from Chisora though. Going into this fight many would have laughed if you'd have bet on him making it past the 10th round. Klitschko may have won by unanimous decision, taking the victory in 8 out of the 12 rounds, but he certainly knows he has been in a fight, a feeling many would say he hasn't felt since his epic showdown with Lennox Lewis in 2003. Despite his out of the ring antics and his loud mouth, Chisora silenced a lot of critics and may have done enough to ensure more big fights come his way.
So welcome him back England. Don't glorify his actions or praise his attitude pre or post fight. Rather accept the fact that no matter how many people condemned him to knock-out, no matter how many times he was told he simply could not prevail against his superior rival; the Derek Chisora who promises so much but to this point had failed, became Derek the Lionheart in Munich tonight.
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