Tyson Fury defends his WBC heavyweight title against former foe Derek Chisora at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Saturday.
The ‘Gypsy King’ and ‘Delboy’ have met on two occasions in the past. Firstly, the pair contested Chisora’s British title back in 2011 at Wembley Arena where Fury picked up a wide unanimous decision to dethrone Chisora.
The pair would run it back three years later, now with the European title thrown into the mix. Fury would be the victor once again, but this time Chisora was pulled out of the fight after round ten by trainer Don Charles as Fury had stepped up the levels.
Since the rematch in 2014, Fury has hit the highest points in the ring, but his biggest fight came outside the ring. Two fights after Chisora, Fury would clinch the IBF, WBA and WBO titles, ending the 11-year reign of Wladimir Klitschko on a historic night in Dusseldorf.
Following the victory against Klitschko, the ‘Gypsy King’ would be stripped of his titles, and it was soon revealed that Fury was battling severe mental health problems, and Fury vacated his belts. Many believed Fury was finished in boxing, he gained a lot of weight and stated he reached 27 stone.
Fury’s mental health was well documented, as in years that followed Fury openly told the world about his struggles, whilst offering advice to those out there who are also struggling, inspiring them to keep fighting.
However, in late 2017, training videos began to surface from Fury with Ben Davison, and he had visibly trimmed down. Then in 2018, it was announced that Fury would be making his heroic return to the ring in Manchester against Sefer Seferi.
Fans packed out Manchester Arena to see Fury make Seferi retire after four rounds, it wasn’t the easiest fight on the eye, but everyone was delighted to see the ‘Gypsy King’ return.
Fury then picked up a shutout victory over Francesco Pianeta at Windsor Park. WBC champion Deontay Wilder was in attendance, a man Fury had history with in the past. Immediately after Fury’s victory over Pianeta, the Deontay Wilder fight was confirmed or December as the pair traded verbals.
Fury rolled back the years in his fight with Wilder, leaving Wilder bewildered by his speed and movement, however in the 12th round, Wilder landed a perfect right hand, flooring Fury, leaving people to believe it was all over. However, Fury infamously rose to his feet to finish the bout which controversially ended as a draw.
Fury would get his rematch with Wilder in 2020, as he defeated both Tom Schwarz and Otto Wallin in 2019. Fury was now trained by Sugarhill Steward and produced a stunning performance, knocking out Wilder in seventh to finally become champion of the world again.
WBC ordered the trilogy and that came in 2021. Wilder had changed his team and in a fight of the year contender which seen both men crashing to the canvas, however it was Fury who came out on top, with a big knockout in the 11th round.
The ‘Gypsy King’ comes into this bout off the back of a successful defence of his WBC title over Dillian Whyte back in April at Wembley Stadium, knocking the Brixton man out within six rounds.
Chisora rebuilt after his loss to Fury, stringing five wins together before challenging Kubrat Pulev for the European title, a fight that saw Chisora come up short by split decision.
Following the Pulev encounter, ‘Del boy’ returned with mixed results up at a high level. Chisora faced Drazan Janjanin in his first bout since, where a devastating body shot stopped Janjanin in round two. Chisora fought Dillian Whyte next, the pair went to war and put on a spectacle after a fiery build-up. Chisora was on the wrong end of a razor-thin split decision.
Chisora bounced back with a victory over Robert Filipovic, before challenging Agit Kabayel for the European title. Chisora would be unsuccessful in this challenge leading to people questioning Chisora’s future. ‘Del Boy’ vowed to continue and would violently stop Zakaria Azzouzi next time out.
Chisora fired himself back into contention following an absolute barnburner with Carlos Takam. In a fight of the year contender, Chisora would be backed up most of the fight, as the pair fought up close before Chisora produced a fantastic shot to drop Takam in the eighth. Takam returned to his feet, but Chisora chopped him down instantly to win the bout.
Chisora would get his rematch with Whyte next, the build-up was a bit more reserved this time around, but Chisora would get into career-best shape for the bout. The pair picked up where they left off and delivered another thrilling bout, but this time Whyte would definitively end the rivalry, brutally stopping Chisora in the 11th round.
Chisora would return and defeat Senad Gashi in a bout where Gashi didn’t really engage with Chisora, meaning Chisora would labour to a wide points victory. Chisora would find a brutal knockout in his next fight, as he would lay out Artur Szpilka in two rounds.
Chisora was pencilled in to face Joseph Parker next, but an illness for Parker ruled him out of the fight. David Price was drafted in as the replacement opponent. Price was coming off the back of a big victory over Dave Allen, so he was carrying momentum into the bout. Chisora halted Price’s momentum as he stopped Price in four rounds.
Chisora would next square off with the now unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk. Chisora caused the Ukrainian great a few issues but would lose by unanimous decision.
Chisora faced Joseph Parker next, Parker would be floored early in the first but would recover to get a split decision over Chisora. Chisora would rematch Parker immediately but would be dropped twice as he would go on to lose by unanimous decision.
Chisora returned to the ring in July this year, and avenged his loss to Pulev, as he edged out the Bulgarian on a split decision at London’s O2 Arena, sending him back into the upper echelon of the heavyweight division.
The December 3rd date was met with much anticipation, as Fury was initially linked with a super fight with former unified heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, however, talks went cold but Fury would retain the date. Manuel Charr looked set to be his opponent, but it would later be revealed that the ‘Gypsy King’ will face Chisora.
Fury and Chisora now battle it out for the third time as they meet at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this Saturday, with Daniel Dubois defending his WBA ‘Regular’ heavyweight title against Kevin Lerena on the undercard, live on BT Sport Box Office.