Before he was officially given his chance, Daniel Dubois promised to use his physical attributes against Oleksandr Usyk. With the unified heavyweight champ having some of the best boxing skills in the world, Dubois wasn’t interested in simply sticking on the outside and having a war of the minds.
Derek Chisora, after overhearing Dubois’s plans, smiled widely. Yet, once the opening bell rang during their showdown this past weekend, the former heavyweight title challenger was disgusted by what took place.
At no point did the 25-year-old contender use his advantages in terms of his size and weight. Instead, he mostly boxed from a distance, jabbed, and when he could, uncorked a few combinations. Outside a controversial fifth round, one which saw Usyk hit the deck from what appeared to be a clean body shot but was ultimately deemed a low blow, the Ukrainian was in complete control.
As Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) crumbled to the canvas in the ninth due to a sharp jab, Chisora couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. Having had time to assess what took place, he ripped into his fellow Brit for his effort.
“Let me be honest,” said Chisora to Fight Hub TV before going on a curse-filled rant. “The only best shot he got was that body shot. Everything else was wack. I don’t know why he didn’t use his body, wrestle the guy, f—— bully him. He did not do that. He tried to make it f—— cute!”
Roughly three years ago, Chisora found himself in the exact position as Dubois. However, unlike Dubois, the now-faded contender fought like a madman. He held the former Olympic gold medalist, leaned on him, punched from awkward angles, and refused to let off the gas.
Outside of himself, Chisora is baffled as to why the rest of his heavyweight contemporaries are so reluctant to employ the same game plan. After placing his hand on his chin and giving it much thought, he believes he knows why no one else has attempted to rough up the Ukrainian.
“They don’t use their size, you know why? Because they are a bunch of p——!”