Derek Chisora picked up a unanimous decision victory in a gruelling contest against Gerald Washington that once again proved that boxing is a young man’s sport. ‘War Chisora’ faced early adversity as a nasty cut was opened up above his right eye in the early rounds to win but went on to win with scorecards of 98-93, 97-94 and 96-94.
From the off, it was trademark ‘Del Boy’, stalking his man, getting his head on his opponent’s chest and looking to land his overhand right with bad intentions. Washington, standing tall, advanced with his chin up in the air, seemingly open to Chisora’s trademark shot.
A good left hook before the bell caught Washington’s attention in a round with plenty of positive early signs for the Brit. In the second, Washington began to carve out some breathing room with his feet, allowing him to land some good work of his own.
The 41-year-old repeatedly walked Chisora onto a few good right hands which opened up a cut above Chisora’s right eye. Signs of fatigue began to set in for Chisora in the third as Washington made him work with nimble footwork.
Washington posted out with his lead hand but missed a few crucial openings to punish Chisora as he winged wild shots over the top. A left hook at the quarter-way mark from Washington seemed to buzz Chisora but the 39-year-old recovered well.
Chisora responded in kind in the fifth, landing a chopping right hand that got the crowd going. A couple more big shots before the bell clearly hurt Washington but he remained on steady legs.
For the first few rounds, Chisora became predictable as he waded in with big overhand rights, allowing Washington to time the right uppercut as he ducked low. But a slip jab to the body took Chisora off the centre line and allowed him to capitalise over the top as his adversary missed with the right.
Like so many times in Washington’s career, when the going got tough his body language began to show it. There were signs that he didn’t want to be there behind his eyes at the halfway mark.
A good finish to the seventh round momentarily instiled belief in the American but he failed to capitalise in the eighth as he conceded ground on the backfoot. Coach Malik Scott desperately tried to pull something out of his fighter but the ninth stanza saw Washington come out even more gun-shy than before.
In the final round, it was clear that both men’s best days were behind them. Clinching and breathing hard they hung on to hear the final bell.