PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Undefeated heavyweight boxer Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13 KO) stood his ground and exited the ring the unanimous winner after 12 rounds against Derek Chisora (30-10, 21 KO) of Great Britain on October 31 at O2 Arena in London.
The three judges scored the fight 117-112, 115-113, 115-113 in favor of Usyk, and the Ukrainian picked up the WBO Intercontinental title belt, making him the mandatory challenger for the WBO heavyweight title, which belongs to Anthony Joshua (the WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight champion). Joshua (23-1, 21 KO), who was ringside at the fight, is scheduled to defend his titles against Kubrat Pulev (27-1, 13 KO) of Bulgaria on December 12 in London.
Chisora, 36, made the fight difficult for Usyk, 33, with the Brit using his size and weight advantage against Usyk, but the Ukrainian used his skills of foot movement and speed to win the bout.
Usyk stated after the fight that he is aiming to become the future undisputed heavyweight champion. He had already accomplished that feat in the cruiserweight division, before he moved up in weight class to heavyweight.
Chisora said he considers himself the winner of the bout, despite the fact that he was out-boxed in several rounds – particularly the seventh, when Usyk sent Chisora to the ropes. Usyk landed a clean left hook in the eighth round, with no threatening response from Chisora.
BBC boxing correspondent Mike Costello, noted:
“I made Usyk an emphatic winner based on his much cleaner punching. Chisora started well and had success with his plan of sticking close to Usyk in the early rounds. By halfway though, Chisora’s aggression had waned and became spirited rather than effective, as Usyk took a lot of the punches on the arms and gloves.
“Dillian Whyte joined us for the fight commentary and dismissed Usyk as a force in the heavyweight division. But being the type of character he is, Usyk will have learned from this experience, his first real test as a heavyweight.”
Reactions
Former world super-middleweight champion George Groves: “I had it 9-3 Usyk. Felt he took his foot off the gas when he didn’t get Chisora out of there after the big seventh round. Waited for the last onslaught from Chisora to come and pass but didn’t fancy pushing for an early finish. Great win nonetheless.”
Olympic gold medalist Audley Harrison: “Good, good fight – Derek fought his heart out and did everything he could to break Usyk down … a classic boxer versus the slugger match-up but the right man won. But salute to Chisora for digging deep and having such a solid performance.”
Former world-title challenger Paul Smith Jr: “[I] had it 9-3 Usyk. Chisora unfortunately did what a lot of fighters do against elite fighters and started in fourth gear. Brave and very good effort from Chisora, tough as old boots and moves great for a heavyweight.”