SITTING ringside in London’s O2 Arena last night, promoter Frank Warren was as thrilled as anyone at the levels Derek Chisora and Joe Joyce went to in their 10-round heavyweight main event. Chisora prevailed on points, which was a surprise considering he had looked close to exhausted for most of the contest.
“I didn’t think it would go the distance,” admitted Frank. “I thought that the favourite was Joe, and I suppose most people felt the same way. It takes two gladiators to create a fight like that, and you’ve got to take your hat off to them.”
Warren saw a close fight that flowed back and forth until the last couple of rounds, where Derek separated himself for victory.
“Amazing, I mean, you look at their ages, I don’t know how Derek does it, to be quite honest. I don’t know how Joe does it, or him. They didn’t miss each other at times. I mean, every punch they was throwing was connecting.
“I didn’t think there was much in it, I really didn’t [prior to Joyce being knocked down in the ninth]. I thought Joe was winning the round, until the knockdown. And the last round, he came back strong at the end of the last round, and I thought that gave him the fight by a couple of rounds.”
While Joyce’s career prospects were dangling by a thread before a fight he was expected to win, defeat in such a manner might not mean the end for the likeable Londoner, who showed heart, guts and a chin that was repeatedly checked.
Warren feels it’s too soon to right him off just yet. Things might look different once the dust has settled in a few weeks.
“I’ve said that I felt that the loser of this fight, we don’t know where to go. But I never predicted or thought it would be a fight like this. I thought it would be competitive, but I didn’t think it would be like this in a million years.”
As July draws to a close, cataloguing fight-of-the-year contenders is becoming more of a pressing task. Warren was pleased with the quality of the card overall and referenced Fury vs. Usyk as a unification match to remember when pressed on great 2024 battles. While Chisora and Joyce wasn’t dangling from such high stakes, it delivered.
“This, at the level it’s at, was awesome, without a doubt,” he said.
Boxing – Vinny Mitchell v Shaun Walton – Featherweight Fight – York Hall, Bethnal Green – 26/9/08. Dean Powell – Trainer. Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Steven Paston.
While Chisora has a reputation for being a spiky character at times, difficult to pin down and deal with, Frank was touched by his post-fight words of praise. Chisora also referenced the impact that Warren’s matchmaker, the late Dean Powell, had on his career.
“I’ve got to be honest, there are no words for it, really, because Dean worked for me for many, many years. He was our matchmaker, and he tragically committed suicide, and he was quite close with Derek and so forth. So it was a terrible loss, but for [Derek] to mention [Dean], I thought, was very classy,” concluded Frank Warren.