By Ian S Palmer
British heavyweight Dereck Chisora will step into the ring in London, England on Saturday, February 15 when he takes on Kevin Johnson of America for Chisora’s WBO and WBA International Titles. Chisora is on a four-fight winning streak after being stopped by fellow Briton David Haye in the fifth round back in 2012. The heavyweight, who was born in Zimbabwe, is hoping to get another world title shot after losing to Vitali Klitschko by a unanimous decision in Germany in his first title shot in 2012.
Johnson, who hails from Asbury Park, New Jersey, is becoming a regular performer on British cards as this will be his third fight in England since 2012. He was beaten by Tor Hamer in the final of the Prizefighter tournament two years ago and then dropped a lackluster 12-round decision to Britain’s Tyson Fury later in 2012. Chisora will enter the bout with a record of 19-4, with 13 Kos while Johnson is 29-4-1 with 14 Kos to his name. The 12-round bout from the Copper Box Arena in London can be seen on the BoxNation network in Britain, on the Fight Network in Canada, and on pay-per-view in America.
For the 30-year-old Chisora and the 34-year-old Johnson to put on a good show they’re going to have to enter the ring in good shape both physically and mentally. Chisora sometimes enters the ring too heavy and needs to get down to about 240 lbs maximum against Johnson. While Johnson is usually in decent physical shape he’s not always ready to fight and can go 12 rounds without throwing much leather at all. He’s a good defensive boxer, but has to throw punches to win.
Vitali Klitschko shut him out over 12 rounds in a title fight several years ago because Johnson was worrying too much about defense. He didn’t learn his lesson though as he fought the same way against Fury in 2012 and lost by a wide decision. He just doesn’t seem interested in fighting anymore and some fans feel he’s just in the sport for the paydays. If that’s the case on Saturday it could be an extremely dull and predictable contest.
Chisora’s not the greatest action fighter around either. He’s scored a few knockout wins lately over the likes of Malik Scott, Edmund Gerber and Ondrej Pala with the bout against Scott being highly controversial. Chisora dropped the American in the sixth round, but Scott clearly rose to his feet before the count of 10 and the referee inexplicably counted him out. A rematch should have been ordered or the fight should have been declared a no-decision.
Chisora’s at his best when he attacks the body and he should try the same against Johnson to try and wear him down. He’s going to have to get on the inside though as Johnson has an 82-inch reach compared to Chisora’s 74 inches. The 6-foot-3 Johnson also has a slight 1.5-inch height advantage. This means Johnson should try to utilize his jab and keep Chisora at bay. But he’s also going to have to throw some power punches to keep the Briton off of him. Basically, Johnson needs to show up to fight not just to last the distance.
Prediction
Neither of these guys really has much in the way of power. They tend to win on stoppages after wearing their opponents down with an accumulation of punches. They both have decent chins, but Johnson’s is better. He’s never been stopped while Chisora was knocked out by Haye and has been shaken in other fights. Johnson’s the better defensive boxer here while Chisora’s the better offensive fighter and naturally more aggressive. Johnson needs to be more aggressive, but it’s just not in his nature. This is likely to be a rather dull affair with Chisora taking a close decision.
