Dereck Chisora will be fighting replacement opponent Otto Wallin on February 8th at the Co-Op Live in Manchester. The 40-year-old veteran Chisora (35-13, 23 KOs) had been planning to fight Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, but the match fell apart due to promotional problems.
This fight has early knockout written all over it for Wallin, who will have an easy time against the past best, Chisora. Chisora would have had a better chance against his originally scheduled opponent, ‘Big Baby’ Miller, because he’s 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 create interest in fans wanting to watch it live, but Wallin is not going to create much buzz.
He’s not a trash talker like Miller, and Chisora can’t pick up the slack. With the way he speaks in a slow, labored manner nowadays, the tickets may not sell. This fight will test the loyalty of Chisora’s fanbase, which has been sticking by his side all these years. It’s unclear if it’s too late for the promoters to switch to a smaller venue, a 3,500-seat job.
Is Wallin Too Talented for Chisora?
Wallin is a decent replacement for Chisora because it could have been much worse. At least Chisora is getting a top-15 contender, which might be bad for him, though. At Chisora’s ripe age, he’s not a top-tier 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 watched Chisora’s last three fights, you saw a guy that fights like he’s knee-deep in mud, and his telegraphed punches make him easy prey for a fighter of Wallin’s class.
This could be an equally tough fight for Chisora, who will face the 34-year-old Wallin (27-2, 15 KOs). Wallin does well against slower fighters that are easy for him to outbox.
Last year, on December 23, Wallin was knocked out in the fifth round by former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Wallin was part of Joshua’s four-fight rebuild job and was not chosen because it was a competitive fight.
Wallin bounced back from that loss to defeat Onoriode Ehwarieme by a first-round knockout last summer on July 26 in Atlantic City.
Chisora is attempting to reach 50 fights before he retires, but it’s unclear if he’ll stay on if Wallin beats him up.
With his 13 career Defeats, Chisora is fortunate to still be headlining cards because elsewhere, he wouldn’t be able to do that. In the U.S., Chisora would be off the main card and on the preliminary cards.
Chisora has surprisingly won three out of his last five fights; his victories have come against these older fighters:
– Joe Joyce: 40
– Gerald Washington: 42
– Kubrat Pulev: 43
