If ever there was a fighter, at any weight, from any place, which practically everyone has found easy to root for, it’s British heavyweight Derek Chisora. The 40-year-old warrior should, as many fans have said numerous times, have retired some time ago, the vast number of wars and the punishment Chisora took in them proving quite alarming. But “War,” as the formerly nicknamed “Del Boy” is known, has stuck around.
Now, having faced so many elite heavyweights, Chisora is holding his own against some of them (Vitali Klitschko, Robert Helenius, Kubrat Pulev, Dillian Whyte, Oleksandr Usyk, Joseph Parker). With Chisora defeating some good men (Malik Scott, Kevin Johnson, Carlos Takam, Kubrat Pulev), the man who was born in Zimbabwe has another potentially damaging fight all set.
As fans know, Chisora, 34-13(23), will face fellow Brit Joe Joyce on July 27th. Chisora, grinning as he spoke with Talk Sport recently, stated that this one will be a “dust-up.”
Chisora then added that he would take care of Joyce “in one round.” Switching momentarily into a more serious mood, Chisora said he feels he has “got three more fights, and this will be number 48.”
“No, it’s not [a lot of fights],” Chisora said, back in a joking mood. “Not if you ain’t got no brain cells.”
Joking aside, it is frighteningly possible that this frighteningly tough (too tough for his good) and brave (repeat) warrior could end up in lousy shape sometime after he has finally hung up the gloves. The Joyce fight will last a lot longer than a single round, as Chisora knows, and it promises to be a pretty brutal affair, with both men soaking up some hurt only to keep coming back for more.
It’s your guess, as it is anyone’s guess when it comes to who wins the fight next month, but how much longer can Chisora keep returning for more fights? Even a loss to Joyce would not persuade Chisora to call it quits, with him so likely to say how he wants to “go out a winner.”
Chisora has more than earned the right to end his career as he sees fit. Let’s just hope Chisora somehow comes out the other end as one of the lucky ones and remains mentally fit into middle age, even old age.
By this time in his life, so many fans who screamed and hollered their support for Chisora will have long since forgotten all about him; such is the sad nature of the sport and of human nature in general. But those who do remember will miss Chisora when he’s done fighting. Let’s hope Chisora remembers his career when he was cashing his pension.
