Nobility with fists
Vitali Klitschko defeated Derek Chisora not only with the power of stroke
With the retirement of such well-known boxers as Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson the super heavyweight (over 90.7 kilograms) is experiencing a serious shortage of candidates for the championship belt. Many people took with a smile Vitali Klitschko’s words that for him the most threatening opponent in the super heavyweight division is the British boxer Derek Chisora. The latter twice had to fight Wladimir Klitschko brother but the Ukrainian boxer had to cancel both fights because of an injury. Therefore, the choice of the 40-year-old champion became sort of a satisfaction for the 28-year-old British boxer of Zimbabwean origin.
The psychological conflict between the athletes began long before the fight. Vitali forbade his opponent to use one of the most recognizable songs in the world “Only Fools and Horses” that he chose for coming out to the boxing ring.
During the traditional ceremony of weigh-in and face to face which did not show any signs that something might go wrong, the British boxer in front of journalists slapped Klitschko. He was fined 50,000 dollars for that.
“This is a blast to the expected fair play in sports and it cannot be condoned. We decided to punish Chisora with a fine to make him think about his behavior. He wanted Vitali to lose control, but Vitali will make him pay for this in the ring, for sure,” said the President of the World Boxing Council Jose Sulaiman.
Big Boxing event was held on February 18 in the evening in the Munich “Olympiahalle” in front of 12,000 spectators. Traditionally for such fights the hall was fully packed with fans from a great variety of countries.
The first minutes of the fight made it clear that there would not be a bloodless victory in this match. During the initial rounds Chisora with his speed constantly rushed forward like a tank. A couple of heavy and effective left-handed blows made the British boxer pause for a while.
In the fourth round Klitschko managed to make the first truly “cutting stroke,” which could knock down a bull but Chisora held his grounds.
After the middle of the fight Klitschko took a break knowing that he has a convincing victory by points. Instead, Chisora realized that he had no chances of winning except for scoring a knockout of the Ukrainian boxer. Therefore, under the psychological pressure of his coach Chisora strained every sinew. Finally, he managed to make several aimed hits at Vitali and won seventh and eighth rounds.
In the final three champion’s rounds Klitschko, despite having more chances for scoring a knockout, couldn’t use them.
Klitschko’s argument in the ring turned out to be more significant than the impudent hysteria of Chisora beyond the ring. Vitali Klitschko defended his title of the World’s Boxing Champion for the ninth time and won the 44th victory in his career.
After the fight Wladimir Klitschko said: “Such behavior is unacceptable. It is simply out of all reasons.” He also added: “As a person, he does not deserve respect.”
To prove Klitschko’s words, another scandal broke out at the post-match press conference. The conflict erupted after Klitschkos’ manager Bernd Bente answering questions of the journalists denied the possibility of a fight between Vitali Klitschko and David Haye. Haye apparently wasn’t happy to hear that. He began a verbal cross-fire with Bente accusing Klitschko’s team of derailing negotiations about the fight with Vitali Klitschko. Bente gave Haye the example of Chisora. Big fans of chattering and their teams brought their fists, bottles, and even camera supports into play. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt. Except, perhaps, for Haye’s manager Adam Booth – his forehead was smashed.
After the conflict was resolved police appeared. Chisora was taken to the city police station directly from the airport. After several hours spent at the police office Chisora’s case was closed without any charges filed. Instead, David Haye has proved to be elusive for the police so far.
The Head of the German Boxing Federation Thomas Puetz has already declared: “British brawlers Chisora and Haye are facing a lifetime ban for having fights in Geramny for the brawl they staged at the press conference.”
Vitali Klitschko’s acting – quiet, dignified, and even noble appears very expressive against the background of this story. It appears that aristocracy may also be with fists.
