Derek Chisora wins his last dance in the UK. The British heavyweight deservedly outpointed a disappointing Otto Wallin, scoring two knockdowns and sending the crowd at Manchester’s Co-op Live Arena into a frenzy. These were the judges’ final scorecards, all in favor of the hometown hero: 114-112, 116-110, 117-109.
The two fighters split the opening rounds, with Chisora being more aggressive and proactive in the first, while Wallin looked sharper in the second, landing a few quick counters in the wide openings left by his advancing opponent.
Chisora started to fire up the crowd in the second half of round three, as his pressure became more systematic and effective. The Zimbabwe-born fighter lowered his head and torso on the approach before unleashing looping hooks aimed at his opponent’s face. While not exactly aesthetically pleasing, these attacks often caught Wallin off guard.
The following rounds were not easy to score, as Chisora’s aggression and heavier punches clashed with Wallin’s precision and cleaner work. The Swede built a web of straight punches, occasionally breaking the rhythm with a right hook. Though not particularly powerful, Wallin’s shots were enough to damage his opponent’s right eye, an issue Del Boy had to deal with until the final bell.
Just when Wallin seemed on the verge of taking control, Chisora made it clear that the second half of the fight would be anything but easy for him. At the end of a seventh round that had largely favored the Swede, the home fighter trapped his opponent against the ropes and rocked him with two brutal left hooks.
But the real disaster for Wallin unfolded over the next two rounds. In the eighth, the Nordic boxer found himself stuck against the ropes for a prolonged period, absorbing a barrage of punches. Then, in the ninth, he was caught off guard by a right hook to the temple that sent him stumbling backward and awkwardly crashing to the canvas.
Encouraged by the roaring crowd, Chisora tried to close the show, burning through a tremendous amount of energy. However, he couldn’t find the knockout, partly due to a referee intervention following a low blow, which interrupted his relentless assault.
Without doing anything spectacular, Wallin managed to take the next two rounds, capitalizing on his opponent’s fatigue. But heading into the twelfth and final round, his situation looked nearly hopeless. With the deficit on the scorecards and the home-field factor, it was evident that he needed a knockout to win.
Nevertheless, Wallin’s last three minutes were far from memorable and ended in a frustrating manner. In the final seconds of the fight, a hook from Chisora caught him off balance and sent him down once again, prompting another referee count.
There was no doubt about Del Boy’s rightful victory. Personally, I scored the fight 115-111 in his favor, making the scorecards of judges Bence Kovacs (114-112) and Olena Pobyvailo (116-110) reasonable, while Bob Williams’ margin (117-109) seemed a bit excessive. However, what matters is that the rightful winner was rewarded.
A great night for Derek Chisora, who, despite being 41 years old and having endured countless battles in his career, gave everything he had in front of his home crowd. He thrilled the fans, scored two knockdowns, and walked out of the arena as the victor. While he was never an elite champion, credit must be given to the British fighter for always putting up a tough fight and making things difficult for most opponents who managed to beat him.
On the other hand, Otto Wallin delivered a truly disappointing performance. Coming in as the bookmakers’ favorite, he produced a dull and uninspired showing, both in terms of mentality and tactics. The Swedish fighter appeared intimidated and demotivated during tough moments and displayed a highly deficient defense, regularly breached by seemingly slow and predictable punches.