By Sam Volz: Derek Chisora faces Kubrat Pulev in a 12-round bout next Saturday night, July 9th, in the headliner on DAZN in a heavyweight rematch at the O2 Arena in London, England. The fight card will be shown live on DAZN at 2:00 p.m. ET.
The 38-year-old journeyman Chisora (32-12, 23 KOs) has been winless since 2019 and has lost his last three contests in defeats against Oleksandr Usyk and Joseph Parker [x 2].
Chisora’s terrible stamina makes it impossible for him to compete with world-class fighters or ex-world-class guys like Pulev.
The way Chisora has gassed out so badly after only two rounds in his last three fights makes you wonder if he’s physically fit to be boxing at this stage of his career.
For Chisora to have any chance of winning against Pulev, he’s got to do a lot of work on cardio because he’s looked so exhausted in his last few fights, and it’s worrisome.
You can argue that the only reason Chisora wasn’t knocked out in his last fight against Joseph Parker is that the New Zealander lacks the killer instinct to finish his hurt opponents.
𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙍𝙀𝙈𝘼𝙏𝘾𝙃 🤝 𝙏𝙊𝙏𝘼𝙇 𝘾𝘼𝙍𝙉𝘼𝙂𝙀#ChisoraPulev2 pic.twitter.com/vKE1b6JBjf
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 3, 2022
Parker had Chisora badly hurt a half dozen times last December and could have quickly finished the 38-year-old off if he’d done for the kill.
Granted, Chisora should have never been fighting world-class fighters like that, as he’s more of an Alen Babic type of domestic-level entertainer type of heavyweight than a top-tier fighter. Many boxing fans would like to see Chisora retire, but with him being allowed to headline on Hearn’s cards on DAZN, he’s not going to do that.
Despite his journeyman status and being shot for many years, Chisora is making excellent money as the B-side opponent for well-known top-tier heavyweights. Chisora’s net worth is estimated at $7.5 million, according to The Sun.
That’s not bad for a career journeyman. To put that number in perspective, former three-division world champion Terence Crawford’s net worth is estimated at $8 million, and he’s obviously done far more with his career than Chisora. That suggests that England is the place where fighters should go if they want to make good coin.
Chisora’s promoter Eddie Hearn has matched him against the 41-year-old past his prime Pulev with hopes he can stop his three-fight losing streak, but it’s unlikely.
Even though Pulev is faded & over-the-hill, he’s still a far better fighter than the 38-year-old Chisora, and he’ll easily dominate him.
Of course, with the fight being staged in the UK in London, Chisora could make it close on the scorecards, even if the better-skilled Pulev outboxes him.
Chisora-Pulev II undercard:
- Israil Madrimov vs. Michel Soro
- Felix Cash vs. Vaughn Alexander
- Caoimhin Agyarko vs. Lukasz Maciec
- Fabio Wardley vs. TBA
- Ramla Ali vs. Agustina Marisa Belen Rojas
- Solomon Dacres vs. Kevin Nicolas Espindola
- Yousuf Ibrahim vs. Francisco Rodriguez
Pulev (29-2, 14 KOs) defeated Chisora six years ago by a 12-round split decision on May 7th, 2016, in Hamburg, Germany, in a fight that some boxing fans felt was close enough to be controversial.
This writer had Pulev easily winning with his jab and his superior boxing skills. There wasn’t much difference. Chisora looked just about as helpless in his loss to Pulev as he had in his two defeats suffered at the hands of the 6’9″ Tyson Fury.
The 6’4 1/2″ Pulev stayed on the outside and picked Chisora off all night, dominating virtually every round of the fight. Chisora was given rounds based on landing a tiny handful of power shots, but he ate so many stiff jabs from Pulev along the way.
Neither of these aging heavyweights is in a position to fight for a world title, but it’s still an entertaining clash. Chisora vs. Pulev II is just for fun, and neither of these guys is going anywhere with the remainder of their careers.
Pulev has twice fought for world titles, both times being knocked out in defeats against Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko.
This news is republished from another source. You can check the original article here