The British favorite Derek Chisora knocked down the Swede Otto Wallin twice and won unanimously.
Derek Chisora defeated Otto Wallin by unanimous points decision at the Co-op Arena in Manchester. It was supposed to be the last fight of the Brit’s professional career. Chisora (36-13-0, 23 knockouts) put in a commanding performance in front of enthusiastic fans, flooring Wallin (27-3, 15 knockouts) in the 9th and 12th. The judges scored the fight 117-109, 114-112 and 116-110, giving Chisora his third straight win. In comparison, Wallin has suffered two defeats in his last three fights.
In front of 13,000 spectators, who cheered him on the whole time, Chisora rolled back the years. Wallin struggled to cope with the constant pressure from Chisora, who was in forward gear from the first bell. However, the 41-year-old Englishman suffered a severe cut over his right eye in the 5th round after a counter left hand from Wallin. The ring doctor allowed the fight to continue even though the Brit was bleeding heavily. Cut-man Russ Anber did a good job to stop the bleeding. Chisora was not affected by the blood running from the cut into his eye.
In the 9th round, Chisora landed a right hand to the chin of Wallin, causing the Swede to stumble back and go down. In the 12th round, just before the final bell, Wallin went down again when Chisora landed a brutal right hand. Eventually, however, the Swede was able to recover and finish the fight.
After the fight, dubbed “The Last Dance”, Chisora vowed to fight on. He asked the crowd who he should fight next and was given three suggestions: Unified Heavyweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk, his “brother” Anthony Joshua and IBF Champion Daniel Dubois. The spectators decided in favor of Usyk! However, Chisora is now the mandatory challenger for the IBF title of Dubois, who will defend his title against Joseph Parker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in two weeks’ time.
Text by Adam Noble-Forcey