Dereck Chisora will fight replacement opponent Otto Wallin on February 8 at the Co-Op Live in Manchester. 40-year-old veteran Chisora (35-13, 23 KOs) had planned to fight Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, but the bout fell apart due to promotional issues.
This fight has an early knockout for Wallin, who will have an easy time against past great Chisora. Chisora would have had a better chance against his originally scheduled opponent, ‘Big Baby’ Miller, because he is slow and his style is easy to figure out.
It’s going to be a tough sell for the promoters of the Chisora-Wallin event to try and bring in a crowd for the 23,500-seat Co-Op Live venue in Manchester. The original opponent, Jarrell Miller, was marketable enough to generate interest from fans who wanted to watch it live, but Wallin wasn’t going to generate much buzz.
He’s not a trash talker like Miller, and Chisora can’t pick up the slack. With the way he talks slowly and laboriously these days, the tickets might not sell. This fight will test the loyalty of Chisora’s fans, who have stayed by his side all these years. It is unclear whether it is too late for the promoters to switch to a smaller venue, a 3,500-seat operation.
Is Wallin too talented for Chisora?
Wallin is a decent replacement for Chisora as it could have been a lot worse. At least Chisora gets a top-15 contender, which could be bad for him though. At Chisora’s ripe age, he is not a top-level heavyweight and hasn’t been in many years. Wallin has technical skills that could be a nightmare for this version of the 40-year-old Chisora.
If you’ve watched Chisora’s last three fights, you’ve seen a guy who fights like he’s knee-deep in mud, and his telegraphed punches make him easy prey for a fighter of Wallin’s class.
It could be an equally tough fight for Chisora, who faces the 34-year-old Wallin (27-2, 15 KOs). Wallin does well against slower fighters that are easy for him to box out.
Wallin was knocked out in the fifth round by former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last year on December 23. Wallin was part of Joshua’s four-fight rebuild and was not selected because it was a competitive fight.
Wallin bounced back from that loss to defeat Onoriode Ehwarieme by first-round knockout last summer on July 26 in Atlantic City.
Chisora is trying to reach 50 fights before he retires, but it is unclear if he will stick around if Wallin beats him.
With his 13 career defeats, Chisora is lucky to still be headlining because he wouldn’t be able to do it anywhere else. In the US, Chisora would be off the main card and on the preliminary cards.
Chisora has surprisingly won three out of his last five fights; his wins came against these older fighters:
– Joe Joyce: 40
–Gerald Washington: 42
– Kubrat Pulev: 43
