Tyson Fury was aiming to retain his WBC heavyweight title when he fought Derek Chisora for a third time on Saturday night and he did just that, producing a calm and calculated performance to beat 'War' in front of a raucous crowd in North London.
The self-styled Gypsy King delivered in comfortable fashion to leave fans wondering why did we bother? With odds of 1/50 ahead of the fight, it was more than a foregone conclusion that Fury would win, however, Chisora produced a valiant display which will have given the paying public a feeling that it may have all been worth it.
It was the correct decision for the referee to stop the fight in the tenth round, with a heavy cut to the eye of Chisora. This meant that he lasted four more rounds than Dillian Whyte did against Fury back in April and this will be a source of pride for the Londoner given his rivalry with Whyte.
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Impatience from Fury in the wake of Oleksandr Usyk's win against Anthony Joshua left talks over a fight against the latter in tatters and also left the Brit with limited options for his proposed December 3rd date and Chisora became the main candidate.
From the beginning fight was declared a foregone conclusion, with one of the greatest if all time up against a man who has now lost 13 fights in his career, including four of his last five. However, Chisora appeared to be putting up one last stand ahead of what is surely impending retirement at the age of 38.
The win for Fury was as routine as expected and, although he won't admit it publicly, will serve as perfect preparation for the 34-year-old to face Usyk next spring. While tonight will prove a success from a commercial perspective, it also proves Fury's star quality and his ability to sell 60,000 tickets for a fight where the outcome was more than predictable is impressive.
However, if he is to enjoy the same kind of legacy the greats of the sport such as Mike Tyson and Muhammad Ali, he must take the tough option going forwards and Usyk will be just that.
If he can retire having become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and beating fought all of the biggest names, which is now topped by Usyk, only then can Fury command the reputation as one of the all-time greats.
Based on tonight's crowd and atmosphere, there is still public appetite for the Wythenshawe-born fighter to do just that and enhance his legacy as a legend of the sport.
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