Vitali Gets UD, As Chisora Makes Him Work For It

Those that want more passion, more fire and fury from the Klitschkos hoped that the weigh in slap by Dereck Chisora would spur Vitali to get out of his comfort zone, wage a shock and awe attack on the challenger in the main event which which unfolded on Saturday night at the Olympic Hall in Munich. It didn’t, as big brother was his usual disciplined self. But Chisora gave a quite solid account of himself, as he looked to press forward and land bombs, while he did connect with solid body work. In the end, Vitali got the nod, by scores of 118-110, 118-110, 119-111, but the challenger did much more to match his pre-fight bluster than say, David Haye did, against Wladimir.

EPIX showed the bout in the US.

The two touched gloves after, but things were tense after, as Wladimir had words with Chisora before the scores were announced. Chisora and promoter Frank Warren said after they’d like a rematch, or a fight against little brother Wladimir. Chisora said he was irked that Wlad watched the hand-wrap process and that he had to cut off his wraps, and re-wrap and also that Wlad pulled out twice against him.  Vital afterwards said he knows he didn’t fight his best. He hinted that maybe he injured his jab hand, and said he didn’t want to make any excuses, and wouldn’t reveal what if anything kept him from performing better. He also said that he saw everything that was thrown by Chisora, so he wasn’t all that impressed.

The 40 year-old Klitschko (43-2 with 40 KOs; born in Kiev, Ukraine, living in Hamburg and Kiev) was 243 pounds, while the 28 year-old Chisora (15-2 with 9 KOs; born in Zimbabwe, lives in London ) was 241.2 pounds at the dramatic weigh in Friday.

Guido Cavalleri was the ref, while Robin Delpierre, Bela Florian and Eddie Pappoe were the judges in a room filled with 13,000 fight fans. The challenger and the WBC champ both received a sharp video intro before first bell. Chisora talked smack to a rap track, LL Cool J’s “Mama Said Knock You Out,” while Vitali promised mayhem while AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” played, and an immense bell tolled.

David Haye, they tell me, joined the announce crew for the “BoxNation” showing of the bout in the UK. Wow…that fella has some cajones. Didn’t really show them in his last bout, last July, when he lost a UD12 without attempting to any great extent to do anything more than survive.

Before first bell, “Del Boy,” nicknamed that because he has a similarly upbeat goofball personality as a lead in a Brit sitcom called “Only Fools and Horses,” got close to Vitali and stared him down while “God Save the Queen” started. He then spit some water in Wlad’s face.

In the first round, V landed left hooks, which he uses like a jab often, and more than few right crosses. Del Boy tried to smother him a bit but after eating some right gave him more room. V moved all the time, staying in motion and staying busy. Del Boy tried a few lopping rights but nothing much landed.

In the second, it was all V. He was calm, cool and busy. The right crosses after a few rounds, would likely take a toll. He didn’t bother jabbing all that much, more so using the left hook to keep Del Boy away.

In the third, trainer Dean Powell yelled for Chisora to, “Let your hands go.” He maybe wanted to but V is so busy, and hard to hit. Vitali comes from underneath much more than most heavies, and those shots that del Boy didn’t pick up, coming from the floor, scored well. Chisora did come forward, but not in a particularly inventive way.

In the fourth, it was hard to see what Chisora could do to change things around. He wanted to land heavy left hooks to no avail. The scores were 40-36, 40-37, 39-37 after four.

In the fifth, V tied up Chisora when he wanted to, as he did from about the third on. Apart from that, he stayed busy, punching and moving. Del Boy did land a decent uppercut backing up but not enough to sway the round.

In the sixth, Chisora, still using that crossed arm guard,  was busy and maybe took the round. He had V backing up, puffing a bit, and landed nice rights to the body. He kept on slipping punches solidly as well.

In the seventh, Chisora made V, who kept using the illegal cuff and shove move,  work again. He backed him up, made him rush. In the last minute, though, his energy lagged.

In the eighth, the round Chisora said he’d stop his foe in, the Brit didn’t stop him, but he made the judges think. He might have won his third straight round. The scores 79-74, 79-73, 79-73 after eight.

In the ninth and the tenth, the right cross from V was working as Chisora was slowing down. Del Boy looked to land some bombs but V slipped them.

In the 11 and the 12^th, V stayed smart. He stayed busy, moved and dodged heavy biombs. In the 12th, Chisora wanted to land a game changer but no dice. He maybe won the round however, to his credit. We went to the cards.

POSTSCRIPT: Chris Mannix was at the presser, working for EPIX. He Tweeted that Wlad was yelling at both Chisora, and David Haye, who crashed it. Klitschko manager Bernd Bonte yelled at Haye, and told him he wouldn’t get a Wlad fight. Then Chisora screamed at Haye, asking him again and again how his toe is. The two men then brawled, with Mannix saying Haye threw first. Chisora threatened to shoot Haye. Wlad giggled as he watched, as Chisora said Haye hit him with a bottle. Chisora then threatened to kill Haye again. Haye trainer/manager Adam Booth, bleeding from his face, jawed with Chisora then. Mannix proclaimed the event “classic.”

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