Derek Chisora says he plans on fighting two more times following his surprising victory over a sluggish Joe Joyce on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Chisora (35-13, 23 KOs) showed his pedigree tonight, outworking ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce (16-3, 15 KOs) in pulling off an upset in the main event of their crossroads fight.
After the fight, Chisora, 40, expressed interest in fighting a trilogy match against Dillian Whyte, saying he’ll fight him if he’s clean. Chisora has lost twice to Whyte in competitive fights in the past.
Limited Options Beyond Whyte
The 36-year-old Whyte is still popular in the UK but not elsewhere. That’s probably as good as it gets for Chisora because he won’t get a title shot against Oleksandr Usyk or a fight against Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.
Chisora looked good against Joyce, 39. He dropped him in round nine and controlled most of the rounds to win a narrow ten-round unanimous decision. What was impressive about Chisora’s performance was how he battled through the final three rounds when he was exhausted and hurt.
He dodged Joyce’s attempts to knock him out in the eighth and ninth rounds and held on for the victory by scores of 97-92, 96-94, and 96-94.
Chisora’s Performance and Stamina Issues
“He was tough. I was tired because I hadn’t boxed for a year. There were a couple of rounds where I was moving back, and my legs were all over the place,” said Derek Chisora at the post-fight press conference when asked if he was hurt by Joe Joyce in their fight on Saturday night.
Chisora wasn’t just tired because he hadn’t boxed for a year. He’s been having stamina problems since 2020, which is why he lost to Oleksandr Usyk and twice to Joseph Parker.
Chisora’s cardio isn’t what it needs to be for him to fight at a fast pace, and the only reason he won tonight is that Joyce was too slow to capitalize on it. If Joyce’s weight was lower, he would have won.
He was at his best when he weighed in the mid-250s, and it’s unclear why he let his weight increase to the 280s. He should have known that it didn’t help him weigh that much in his fights against Zhilei Zhang and Kash Ali. That’s a training camp issue.
“There’s too big guys in there. The whole point is to stay up and keep moving. It was beautiful and tough. I don’t know which one was better. That one or Dillian Whyte?” said Chisora when asked about his getting hurt by Joyce.
Chisora’s older fans in the UK will be interested in seeing him fight a trilogy match against Whyte, and it will pay well. If His Excellency wants to offer Chisora a lot of money to fight Jared Anderson, that would be a good option for him.
The Importance of a Fast Start
“I had to win the first five rounds, and then win two rounds in the next five to win it. The whole point was to start fast,” said Chisora.
The fast start for Chisora was the key to him getting the victory tonight because he was able to bank enough early rounds to build up a lead and then hang on when he gassed out beginning in the eighth. The knockdown in the ninth saved Chisora because he appeared to be approaching defeat.
“I would have a rematch with Dillian [Whyte] as long as he’s clean,” said Chisora. “That’s the whole point. If he’s clean, I’ll do that with him 100%, but there’s no point in fighting someone that is not clean. But if he wants to have a rematch, I’ll give him that, and then I’ll get on the same stuff that he’s on.”
Whyte last fought in March, stopping journeyman Christian Hammer in the third round. Hammer had been knocked out in four rounds in his previous fight against Joyce.
In November 2022, Whyte won a controversial twelve-round majority decision over Jermaine Franklin in London.
Many felt he clearly lost the fight, but he was given a hometown gift. Tyson Fury knocked Whyte out in his previous fight in April 2022 and looked washed up. He is over the hill but popular in the UK and will be a good opponent for Chisora.
“Yeah, there’s two fights left,” said Chisora, discussing his career. “He was telling me to ‘Move, move, move,’ Everybody was telling me to move. I wanted to move, but my legs didn’t want to move.I was like, ‘Move.’ They’re like, ‘We’re going nowhere, bro. Just take the heat.’ It was hard.”
If not a trilogy match with Whyte, a rematch with Joe Joyce would be a good option for Chisora’s next fight. Either of those two fights would sell tickets in London and give Chisora an opponent against whom he can headline.
Joyce’s Future: A Need for Reevaluation
“Joe was good. Joe boxed well. It’s one of those things. He’s [Joyce] lost three, and I’ve lost 13. I keep getting back up,” said Chisora when asked if Joyce could come back from this loss. I keep going hard.”
Joyce didn’t look good tonight, and he was nowhere near the level he was at when he fought Joseph Parker in September 2022. He was lighter for that fight and fought much better than he did tonight, weighing in the 280s.
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