Buckle up its Del Boy time. With Derek Chisora you know what you are going to get, entertainment. Fast and furious.
Kubrat Pulev is the perfect dance partner for him, strong, tough and disciplined. Just like the first fight in Germany six years ago, Saturday’s O2 showdown has all the ingredients of another close contest. Only this time Chisora is aiming to be on the right side of the judges to avenge his split-decision defeat.
Del Boy is a great survivor. He’s eccentric and fun. He can fight. He’s tough. He has a good chin and he’s not afraid of anybody. It takes a good fighter to take him down. He is not talented enough to beat the top guys but he is one of the characters of the heavyweight division and this will be an absorbing fight.
Pulev has the greater pedigree. He did more as an amateur in the Bulgarian system. That’s always an indicator of quality. Both are getting on. Chisora was always a level off the elite and at 41, Pulev is no longer in that category.
But that does not mean it won’t be a watchable fight. Eddie Hearn knows what sells and this is a match full of competitive tension. Pulev is very organised and hard to crack. His only defeats came against Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua, who took nine rounds to finish him.
He is upright with hands high in the traditional Eastern European style. He pops the jab and drives the right hand through. It can be a bit one-dimensional but effective. Ultimately you are as good as the number of punches you have taken.
And Chisora has shipped more punishment. But he is unusually durable, stopped only three times. Though we don’t know how much Pulev has left I give him the edge, expecting him to prevail in the last quarter of the fight.
But don’t be surprised to see him down. Chisora will go for it. That’s his credo. It’s also how he wins the fight. He has promised to come out swinging. But he needs to be strategic as well. There has to be a method to his madness.
I favour Pulev because he is more disciplined and knows how to deal with the kind of rollicking pressure Chisora brings. However, if he is not at his best Chisora has the will and the commitment to force what would be a career-best result.
- Follow Barry on Twitter at @ClonesCyclone @McGuigans_Gym
