Dereck Chisora feels confident about victory in his 12-round heavyweight headliner contest next month against ‘The Juggernaut’ Joe Joyce at the O2 Arena in London.
Joyce is a little less shopworn than Chisora, but he’s got the size, power and the jab to make mincemeat of Derek. It’s a fight that Joyce has got to be seen as a huge favorite because it was only two years ago he stopped Joseph Parker.
He hasn’t lost enough from his game for a ham & egger like Chisora to beat him. Joyce’s two recent knockout losses were to Zhilie Zhang, who would be bad news for Chisora at any stage of his career.
Chisora’s Decline and Calls for Retirement
It’s a match that could be the final nail in the coffin of Chisora’s career if he loses and gets knocked out by Joyce (16-2, 15 KOs). Some fans are already calling for Chisora to retire and for the British Boxing Board to pull his license.
Of course, if they do that, Chisora might be able to keep his career going by fighting in Saudi Arabia if His Excellency has a soft spot in his heart for the old warhorse.
He wouldn’t be doing Chisora any favors by allowing him to fight on his cards in Riyadh, as he could get hurt, especially if he’s matched against anyone in the top 15.
In this case, Chisora isn’t facing a top 15-rated fighter in Joyce, but it’s still a guy that is a level above him in power, and pedigree. Chisora has never been as good as Joyce, and there’s no way that he would have made the Olympic team.
The 40-year-old Chisora (34-13, 23 KOs) has looked shot to pieces since suffering a loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2020, and he’s gotten worse in each fight. He’s lost four out of his last six fights, with his only since coming against a pair of 41-year-olds, Gerald Washington and Kubrat Pulev.
Chisora’s Determination
‘I didn’t want this fight. They wanted it. He wanted it. It’s a good fight,” said Dereck Chisora to talkSport Boxing about his clash against Joe Joyce on July 27th at the O2 Arena.
“After the Chinese guy [Zhilei Zhang] beat him up badly, I think he has PTSD now. I went to see his fight against Kash Ali in Birmingham, and he was tuned into the same mood, just trying to bully himself and use his head as defense.
“We’ll figure it out. He’s not going to change his boxing style in the next four or five weeks,” said Chisora about Joyce.
