Tyson Fury has extended his superb record to 35 professional fights without defeat after beating Derek Chisora at an absolute canter at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday evening.
Billed as the heavy favourite heading into the clash, Fury had odds as low as 1/50 to beat his long-time pal in what was promoted as a relatively straight forward clash. And, with the world watching, Fury outdid his opponent without ever breaking a sweat to retain his WBC and The Ring heavyweight belts.
With Chisora having lost three of his last four bouts before the fight, including a double against Joseph Parker, the odds were stacked against him against the Gypsy King, who demolished Dillian Whyte all the way back in April in his last fight.
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He started cautiously in the first round, sizing up his opponent by eating body shots and quickly started to move up through the gears from there-on.
Chisora looked to be fighting an uphill battle from the middle of the first round as Fury landed a couple of decent right hooks to the temple, and it quickly became apparent that the Mancunian had taken full control of the driving seat to dictate play himself.
A beleaguered looking Chisora looked to be out of breath,with the lack of reach he had upon the Gypsy King really beginning to show - and despite a few attempts to lay hard into Fury in the first two rounds, he was always looking inferior to the reigning champion.
Fury rocked Del Boy and almost sent him through the ropes towards the end of round two, and it was apparent to all that the Zimbabwe-born star was simply holding on until the end of the round - despite taunting his opponent with a look that he 'could take anything' despite the obvious struggle on his hands.
Sensing blood, Fury came flying out of the blocks in round three with an extra spring in his step, and continued to hassle and bully his opponent into the corner, looking for that one grandstand finish to call the tie over early on. It didn't arrive in round three, and Chisora seemed to find a second wind, albeit way too early to stand a chance by lasting the rest of round four.
Round five saw Fury hit Chisora with a flurry of jabs and hooks, though none with any real conviction to leave his opponent on the canvas - or in any real trouble for that matter, despite the clear staggering and stumbling that Chisora was putting on display as his fatigue began to show.
Rapid doubles and solid footwork from Fury left Del Boy constantly clamouring back into the corner as he failed to land a single glove on Fury's head, and the Gypsy King knew that he was exuding pure control over his friend.
You have to hand it to the 38-year-old; he never gave up no matter the circumstances, and continued to battle to the bitter end as he likely accepted that it was knockout or nothing as the duo entered the second half of the fight - especially with his right eye closing up at the end of round seven. The amount of resilience he showed was almost unrivalled in the modern boxing era.
That dominance carried on, however, with referee Victor Loughlin allowing the fight to continue despite potential injury for Chisora with his eye worsening, with the acrid taste of yet another loss clearly the burning desire in the back of Chisora's mind as his reason to continue.
His corner wouldn't allow him to give up, and though Fury was toying with Chisora, you sensed it could be over at any point from round three onwards - and with just 14 seconds left at the end of round ten, that became definitive.
With Chisora bludgeoned by a tepid Fury uppercut, Loughlin stepped in to call the tie to a halt - despite the booing of the crowd as they yearned for the scrap to carry on. Perhaps a strange reaction as it looked like men against boys on the north London canvas - but Fury ran out an easy champion, plain as day.
The pair hugged almost instantly in a fight that never seemed fair, but it marks 34 wins from 35 for the Gypsy King.
The result leaves Chisora having now lost four of his last five, and could potentially be hanging up his gloves with Ricky Hatton telling him to do so earlier this week.
Meanwhile, the ever-nagging question of Fury vs Joshua will continue to burn on, especially with the former having kept his titles - and that will surely mean that it is now or never for a potential bout between the duo named as Britain's best heavyweights over the last decade.
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