Fury v Chisora White Hart Lane 03-12-22
Iain Dolan at ringside
Ever brave Dereck Chisora suffered a third beating at the hands of Tyson Fury on Saturday night as Fury defended his WBC and “Lineal” Heavyweight titles. It was uncomfortable viewing at times as Fury picked off Chisora with ease in what sometimes looked like a sparring session but also added more miles to Del Boy’s already road worn clock whenever Fury put his foot on the gas. Eventually referee Victor Loughlin rescued Chisora in the 10th round but the job should have been done by Del’s corner considerably earlier. Fury moves on, hopefully to fight Usyk for all the marbles but Joyce or Joshua would also be fights to get excited about. Del Boy, it is devoutly to be wished, reaches for his well earned pipe and slippers.

Chief support was Daniel Dubois v Kevin Lerena at Heavyweight (WBA regular strap on the line for all that’s worth). Dubois was down three times in the opening round, which was a shock to say the least. The first one was a blow to the temple and he appeared to damage a knee or ankle on the way down and the subsequent two seemed voluntary as he assessed the damage, probably the smart move. Dubois regrouped in the 2nd as Lerena inexplicably backed off, maybe content with a 10-6 round in the bag but Dubois started throwing again in the 3rd and dropped Lerena twice, the 2nd time right on the bell. It was waived off after the 2nd knock down which was probably the right decision but it did feel as though Dubois enjoyed the rub of the green, especially with a slightly early bell at the end of the 1st when he was in trouble. Although Dubois’ performance probably raises more questions about him than it answers, he’s currently a vulnerable, hard hitting heavyweight and who doesn’t want to watch that?
It was a risky move for Queensberry to try and fill a stadium for what was quite a routine defence for Fury this close to Christmas and in the middle of the World Cup but fill it they did (more or less). It being a cold night in December the crowd didn’t emerge from the concourse bars and take their seats until Dubois v Lerena was imminent but once positioned the usual gamut of wedding disco tunes were given full throated support. Queensberry, true to their word, had the ring walks were underway only a shade after 9pm with all the usual razzmatazz and posturing so the actual flight started somewhere round 9:30 pm. It could have been that bit earlier if we’d eschewed the national anthem, mercifully only the one due to the fighters both being British. Hopefully, the earlier start will have been deemed a resounding success by all and will start to become a regular occurrence.
One of the principal benefits of the early start and finish was that I was on a 144 back to Muswell Hill by 10:30pm and managed to make last orders at the Muswell Hillbilly Tap room. HOME | Muswell Hillbilly (muswellhillbillybrewers.co.uk) Craft beers to suit all tastes and every chance they’ll have your favourite 80s tune on vinyl. I heartily recommend the Palace Sunset red ale and a bag of the home made biltong.

dolan.iain@yahoo.co.uk