Tonight (July 26, 2014), the Phones 4u Arena in Manchester, England will play host to a Heavyweight match between Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora that has British, European and International Titles on the line. Right now, Several Bookmakers has Fury installed as a (-230) favorite over fellow countryman Chisora, who returns (+190).The bout is a rematch as the two faced off at Wembley Arena back in July of 2011, where Fury won a comfortable unanimous decision. The fight was pretty much a pick ’em bout, as Chisora and Fury were both undefeated Heavyweights with matching 14-0 records and both had visible holes in their respective games. A lot has changed for both men since that first meeting.
Chisora has been through on oddyssey, with the key word being ‘odd’. Following the loss to Fury where he came in at his fattest in the 260’s, he beat a journeyman with an 18-43 record then lost to Finland’s Robert Helenius. That 1-2 stint earned him a World Title shot at Vitali Klitschko, which he lost. he then went on a rampage in the media that led to a grudge match against David Haye, which he lost as well. That streak of failures both inside and out of the ring had Chisora fading from relevance like Mitch ‘Blood’ Green, but a new focus on his career has seen him trim down to the 230’s and string together five wins in a row.
Fury has been on a completely different road since the first Chisora fight. He has extended his record to 22-0, staying undefeated and seeing himself move up in the rankings and in the estimation of the boxing public. At home in the UK, Fury is already approaching superstar status and he has been talking about a World Title shot for a long time. He last fought on the same card as Chisora’s last outing, so both men have matured in terms of build up to the fight. Though Fury is far from unanimously respected as a boxer, he has been working extremely hard on his craft and he has been improving to the point where he is now a top five heavyweight.
Undoubtedly, Fury has to win to be able to keep calling for a title shot. A win over Chisora, and the title shot could be next up for Fury. If not before the end of 2014, Fury will certainly be in the title hunt in 2015. A win for Chisora means he too will be calling for a match with champion Wladimir Klitschko. Look for a fight that could turn onto a war or could be a bore fest. Either way, Chisora may deserve more of a shot than the oddsmakers are giving him.