Former heavyweight title contenders Dereck Chisora and Artur Szpilka square off on July 20, 2019, at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Along with the David Allen vs David Price matchup, the Chisora vs Szpilka showdown is one of the undercard fights of the Dillian Whyte vs Oscar Rivas heavyweight title eliminator.
Dereck “War” Chisora
Dereck Chisora is a multiple-time regional heavyweight champion, previously holding such belts as the British, Commonwealth, European, WBO and WBA international titles. He once challenged Vitali Klitschko for the WBC title in 2012. Chisora owns wins over Danny Williams, Kevin Johnson, Carlos Takam and Malik Scott.
Chisora stands 6-1 tall and has a 74-inch reach while fighting as an orthodox fighter. The
35-year old Zimbabwe-born British fighter has a record of 30-9 with 21 knockouts. In his last fight, Chisora decisioned Seand Gashi after 10 lackluster rounds. Chisora took control of the fight early and tried to chase his opponent all throughout but couldn’t get the stoppage.
Chisora has a big right hand which is his knockout punch. He is also a good counter-puncher but spends most of the fight moving forward, looking to unload his offense. He’s been stopped thrice but remember he went 12 rounds with Vitali Klitschko so he is durable. However, his defense isn’t as good, particularly his head movement, which causes him to eat many punches. Chisor is the boxing betting favorite in this fight.
Artur “Pin” Szpilka
Artur Szpilka is a former heavyweight title challenger. He took on WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in 2016 and lost that bout via a violent one-punch knockout that left Szpilka unconscious on the canvass for several minutes and forced him to be carried outside via stretcher.
Spilka is 6-4 tall, owns a 76-inch reach and fights out of the southpaw stance. The 30-year old from the Polish People’s Republic has a record of 22-3 with 15 knockouts. In his most recent bout, Szpilka won a close split decision over countryman Mariusz Wach last November 2018.
Szpilka is a big guy whose southpaw stance and unorthodox fighting style makes him a difficult read for his opponents. He is an aggressive fighter who likes to move forward while unleashing his big punches. The problem with Szpilka is that his aggressive style works two ways: he either gets the knockout or he gets stopped.
Past Their Primes
This is an interesting fight to pick because these are two fighters who are past their primes. Chisora is older at 35 years old and he has a lot of miles on that tank But while he’s over the hill, he’s not yet shot, which I think Szpilka already is.
Szpilka suffered his first knockout loss to Bryant Jennings but he recovered after that and earned a title shot against Deontay Wilder. But then Wilder violently knocked him out of their 2016 fight and since that bout, Szpilka has never looked the same again. Sure, he is still 30-years old and athletically, that’s still very young. But while his body still looks the same, the eyes tell a different story.
There are some losses that fighters bounce back from and then there are those that alter careers. I think Szpilka suffered that against Wilder. He fought only once in 2017 and was knocked out by countryman Adam Kownacki in four rounds. Szpilka has won two in a row since that loss including a split decision victory over another countryman in Mariusz Wach in November 2018. But even in those victories, I couldn’t see the old Artur Szpilka and I doubt if we’ll see it again.
Who Wins?
Chisora meanwhile, is just 6-4 with four knockouts in his last ten bouts. His losses during that period were to Kubrat Pulev, Dillian Whyte ( 2 times ) and Agit Kabayel. No question Chisora is no longer as dangerous as he once was but in his recent fights, he’s shown that he can still compete at a higher level. His opponents have been of better quality and he’s looked better in his recent fights.
Szpilka and Chisora both have the knockout power and I don’t think this one’s going the distance. With a lot on the line for both, I expect fireworks in this one. Szpilka has been down at least eight times and has been knocked out in each of his three losses. Chisora has been knocked out thrice too but he’s more durable.
I expect a competitive fight from these two and I don’t think there’s not much difference between these two except that Szpilka looks shot and Chisora is still competitive. I think Chisora has more pride left in him and he has the better chin between the two. Both will have their moments but in the end, I expect Chisora to do better in front of his countrymen. Prediction: Dereck Chisora by knockout