Heavyweight contender Derek Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) showed that he has a little bit left in the tank at age 41, beating Sweden’s Otto Wallin (27-3, 15 KOs) by a 12-round unanimous decision on Saturday night in a competitive contest throughout to earn IBF mandatory spot at the Co-op Arena in Manchester, England.
Late Surge
The southpaw Wallin looked to be in control of the fight through eight rounds, but Chisora came alive in the championship rounds, knocking the 34-year-old Otto down in the ninth and twelfth to get the victory. The scores were 114-112, 116-110, and 117-109. This writer had it 114-112 for Chisora. He just barely nicked it.
Chisora was cut over his right eye earlier in the contest, which the referee ruled was caused by a clash of heads. However, it appeared to be from a hard left hand that Wallin connected with. Thankfully, it didn’t factor into the end result.
Wallin gave ground to Chisora through the majority of the rounds, letting the 41-year-old back him up against the ropes. This passive approach by Wallin later bit him in the backside in the last rounds, as Chisora was able to hurt him with shots. If Wallin had stayed in the center of the rind, he’d have fared better, but he didn’t show much heart for fighting Chisora from that area of the ring.
In the ninth round, Chisora nailed Wallin with a right hand on the top of his head, causing him to stumble and fall. It looked like it could have been a balance situation, but since there was a punch that landed by Derek, the referee ruled it as a knockdown.
Wallin controlled rounds 10 and 11 with his aggression, taking advantage of Chisora’s fatigue to land left hands. Chisora was posting up against the ropes, resting and trying to lure Wallin in so he could load up on a shot to score a knockdown. It had mostly failed until the 12th when Chisora dropped Wallin with a right.
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