Heavyweight Preview: Chisora-Scott

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The controversial Dereck Chisora’s latest outing is against undefeated American heavyweight Malik Scott.

I will be completely honest in saying that as a Brit, I had never heard of Scott until this fight was announced. Following this announcement I looked into Scott’s research and watched a few of his fights.

From watching Scott in previous fights he seems to have a good boxing technique and seems quite slick.  Aged 32 he holds a record of 35 wins and 1 draw. This is a very good record but it seems quite padded with relatively easy opponents.  Looking through it would appear as though he has never been in with anyone of note. Facing Chisora will be a massive step-up.

Scott at 6ft5 is a good size for a heavyweight and looks like an athletic man.  He will turn up in good shape which cannot always be said of his opponent Chisora. Dereck has entered the ring in less than desirable shape a few times in his career but he appears to have put that behind him now.

Chisora is a very one-dimensional fighter who looks to come forward constantly and put the other fighter under pressure. He looks to get on the inside of the opponent and land combinations. This is an all action style but one that isn’t technically the best.

Controversy follows Chisora everywhere he goes and the build-up to this fight has been no different. A conference call between Chisora and Scott resulted in foul-mouthed abuse as well as homophobic and slave related insults. This is no surprise to anyone who knows of Chisora due to his past. Chisora has previously bitten and opponent, spat water at Wladimir Klitschko, slapped Vitali Klitschko and started a press conference brawl with David Haye. He has real issues controlling himself but this is part of his attraction. He creates headlines and is interesting to watch.

I expect this fight itself to be quite tough for both fighters. It is a big step-up for Scott as despite the 29 year-old Chisora having a fairly unimpressive record of 16 wins and 4 losses, he has been in with some of the best in the division. Chisora has faced Tyson Fury, Vitali Klitschko and David Haye. These are far superior fighters to anyone that Scott has been in with.

Chisora has shown real improvements in boxing-terms in recent fights including pushing Vitali for 12 rounds and putting up a good show against Haye before being knocked out. I expect Chisora to continue this improvement and come through this fight with Scott.

Chisora will really look to put Scott under pressure and use a style which he says he has tried to copy from the former great heavyweight and Chisora’s role model Joe Frazier. This intense way of boxing requires determination and a great chin. Chisora has an unbelievable chin and with Scott apparent lack of power with only 12 knock outs from 35 wins that Chisora will not be knocked out or bullied around the ring.

Scott will look to use his classier boxing skills to keep Chisora at distance and get a points decision. I just don’t see this happening though. I think Chisora will have too much for Scott and will win. I predict a late stoppage from Chisora. Although Chisora doesn’t possess great punch –power I expect him to wear Scott down and take advantage late-on.

This will be a very interesting fight to see which boxer can move on and target bigger fights in the future. Chisora is targeting another shot at a world title and a win against the unbeaten Scott will help on his way to that shot!