Derek Chisora suffered a constant beating at the hands of Tyson Fury this weekend, proving that your not giving up isn’t always a blessing.
Since the fight was announced, fans have been complaining about matchmaking. What goes on at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is still jarring.
From the first ring to the end Leukemia Champion control every aspect of the action, swaying the challenger at will, and even showing mercy in some cases.
Despite losing with ease, Chisora didn’t touch the tarp – aside from an awkward acrobatic hit with Fury – and continued to lunge forward to receive the punches of a 286-lb man.
After being silent about the boxer’s corner after the ninth round, referee Victor Loughlin finally ordered the tenth round to be halted. Talking to seconds out after that, Chisora was very grateful.
“The referee came to me and said ‘if you don’t do anything else, I will stop it.’ And then the referrer was right – there wasn’t much I could do anyway. The referee was right. The British boxing control board was right. You know, because then you have to go home to your kids.”
“As warriors, you don’t want to stop. You want to move on, because that’s how we were bred. We just want to fight, fight, fight for fifteen innings. And that’s why the referees are there – just look at the fight and say you know what, this is not going well.”
Chisora thanked Loughlin for his intervention in the ring, a clear sign that the boxer as well as the audience knew he needed to be saved from himself.
Despite facing boos echoing around the 60,000-seat, Loughlin did what was responsible – and may have prevented ‘Del Boy’ from entering life-threatening trauma territory. It was a brave call that Chisora’s corner didn’t make on its own, for which they were met with quite a bit of criticism.
With the war now doomed to history, Fury continues to be undefeated for a chance to be the undisputed champion of the tournament.
Chisora’s future is unclear. The general consensus among fans, boxers and pundits is that retirement has beckoned, but – unlike what happened in the tenth round – the only person who can make that decision is Chisora herself.
