Derek Chisora stormed to unanimous victory over Otto Wallin in “The Last Dance” in Manchester as the 41-year-old British heavyweight veteran signed off with his final fight on home soil. The stalwart of the division hopes to reach No. 50 in the summer as he looks to conclude a sensational, storied career. Earlier in the night, Nathan Heaney suffered a disappointing upset against Sofiane Khati.
Derek Chisora secured a dominant, one-sided unanimous victory over Otto Wallin in Manchester in what was billed as his final fight on British soil.
Chisora came into the contest with 48 fights to his name, with a hefty 13 defeats but a well-established reputation as a game fighter.
This was billed as the Briton’s final fight on home soil – perhaps No. 50 will be part of a Riyadh Season extravaganza this summer – and he came up against Otto Wallin.
Wallin was best known as the fighter that most troubled Tyson Fury – until he met Francis Ngannou and Oleksandr Usyk – drawing blood back in their 2019 clash. The threat to Chisora was real.
Chisora started brightly enough in the opening round, and stepped up the suffocating pressure in the second.
In the third, the 41-year-old made a series of hefty connections as Wallin looked too sluggish to cope, though in the fifth he inflicted a cut on Chisora above the right eye after an accidental clash of heads.
In the sixth round, the referee demanded some extra attention for Chisora with blood pouring from the gash, and the repair work appeared to assuage the ref’s concerns. The seventh brought the crowd to their feet as Chisora landed a flurry of blows, with the bell a timely intervention for Wallin.
In the ninth, Wallin was sent flying into the corner as he hit the canvas, but recovered quickly and rode out the following flurry from Chisora as the fight hit the championship rounds.
Chisora controlled the rest of the bout with measured aggression against Wallin, who offered little in return. In the dying seconds, Chisora sent Wallin to the canvas once more.
The judges returned a unanimous 117-109, 114-112, 116-110 decision to reward what might have been the most rousing performance of his career – so far.
The victory earned Chisora the nod in the IBF eliminator for the heavyweight belt, potentially setting up a huge all-British title fight with Daniel Dubois.
