By Ian S Palmer
There’s a big European heavyweight clash scheduled for the O2 Arena in London, England this Saturday, July 20th when Dereck Chisora takes on Artur Szpilka of Poland. The 10 or 12-round bout can be seen on DAZN in North America while fans in the UK can catch it on Sky Box Office. Chisora last fought in April when he beat Senad Gashi via a 10-round unanimous decision. Szpilka was last in the ring in November when he beat Mariusz Wach by a 10-round split decision.
The 35-year-old Chisora was born in Zimbabwe, but fights out of England. He climbs up the ring steps with a mark of 30-9 along with 21 Kos. He lost twice to Dillian Whyte as he was stopped in the 11th round of a slugfest last December and he dropped a 12-round split decision to him two years earlier. He’s also lost twice to Tyson Fury as he was halted after 10 rounds in 2014 and dropped a 12-round unanimous decision in 2011. His other five losses came via a fifth-round TKO to David Haye in 2012, a unanimous decision loss to world champ Vitali Klitschko just five months earlier and a 12-round split decision defeat to Robert Helenius three months before that for three straight defeats.
He was also beaten by Kubrat Pulev by a 12-round split decision back in May, 2017 and by Agit Kabayel via a majority decision in November, 2017. Chisora stands just over 6-feet-1-inch tall and has a 74-inch wingspan. He may be a little more skilled than people give him credit for as he can throw decent combinations when he’s in a rhythm but often leaves himself exposed to counter shots. Chisora’s defeated the likes of Carlos Takam, Malik Scott and Kevin Johnson. As a pro he’s captured the WBA International and WBO International, WBA Inter-Continental and British Heavyweight Titles.
Chisora has plenty of experience against top-notch opposition but has usually fallen short when stepping up in class with the exception coming against Takam. He’s boxed 250 rounds since turning pro in 2007 and owns a 54 per cent knockout ratio. You never know which version of Chisora is going to show up but when he’s motivated he can be pretty exciting by giving and taking all night long. When he’s at his best he can be a handful for anybody on the world stage but he sometimes runs out of steam as the fight goes on.
The 30-year-old Szpilka enters the ring with a pretty good mark of 22-3 with 15 Kos and he also has some power in his punches as his knockout percentage is currently 60 per cent. He’s a southpaw who stands just over 6-feet-3-inches tall and has a reach of 76 inches which gives him a two-inch edge in both height and reach. He’s fought 116 rounds since turning pro in 2008. His biggest wins have been against Dominick Guinn, Ty Cobb, Tomasz Adamek, Brian Minto, Jameel McCline, Owen Beck and Mike Mollo twice.
Szpilka was stopped in the ninth round by WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder in January of 2016 and his other losses were a 10th-round TKO at the hands of Bryant Jennings back in 2014 and a fourth-round TKO to Adam Kownacki in July, 2017. Like Chisora, Szpilka’s chin can rightfully be questioned since he’s been stopped three times. He’s a tough customer though who likes to come forward and bang away on the inside. He’s going to need to land something hard and heavy early on in the fight though before Chisora does. This is another huge clash for both boxers if they hope to regain their stature as legitimate heavyweight contenders on the world stage instead of just in Europe.
Prediction…
It’s arguable who has more power and the better chin but both of these guys can give and take with the best of them. This could eventually turn into a slugfest and that’s more likely than it being a boxing match. This is a tossup as it can go either way. I’ll give the edge to Szpilka though since he’s slightly bigger and five years younger even though he’s fighting in Chisora’s backyard. Chisora usually bobs and weaves his way to the inside and doesn’t mind to brawl but Szpilka has enough power to stop him and vice versa.
