If you're a fan of Heavyweight boxing there is really only one fight to be tuning in for this weekend as the Britain's Dereck Chisora (16-4, 10) takes on unbeaten American Malik Scott (35-0-1, 12).
Of the two men Chisora is the more well known. Sure he has 4 losses on his record but they have come at a higher level to what Scott has been fighting. In all honesty it's the 4 losses that have helped to define Chisora as a warrior happy to face anyone.
Looking at Chisora's losses, which have come to world ranked contenders Tyson Fury, Robert Helenius and David Haye as well as world champion Vitali Klitschko there is little to be ashamed by. He has tested himself and fallen short against the top guys (and was very unfairly robbed of a victory against Helenius).
Scott on the other hand has had a reputation of a fighter who has been much more selective in his matchmaking. His skills have never been doubted but in his first 30 fights he had faced nobody of note.
Thankfully for Scott he has started to step up significantly in recent fights and has beaten Raphael Butler and Bowie Tupou in recent bouts as well as scoring a highly controversial draw with Vyacheslav Glazkov in a bout many felt Scott was robbed in.
Although the two men have very different records what they have in common is an attitude. Both are confident, brash and could very easily be described as having a "gangster" mentality. This has lead to some memorable build up though as we all know build can mean very little in the ring.
As well as the different records of the two men they also have very different styles.
Chisora is a somewhat plodding face first pressure fighter. He's not hugely skilled, particularly fast or even a big banger but he is hard working, tough and relentless. He will happily take a shot to land one and will stalk for 12 rounds if need be to try and break his opponent both mentally and psychically.
On the other hand Scott is amongst the best pure boxers in the Heavyweight division. He moves beautifully and fights off the jab, arguably the second best in the division. Like Chisora he lacks concussive power but has the sort of skill that we rarely see in the division and can use that skill to rattle off jabs before an opponent can set themselves.
On paper this bout is one of those great style battles of boxer v swarmer. If Chisora can get inside the jab of Scott then we'll see what Scott is really made of, if however the man known as "80-72" can establish the pace and distance of the jab he really could make Chisora look very basic.
With the bout scheduled for 10 rounds we're favouring Scott to eek out a decision. Against Glazkov he certainly slowed late in the bout and gave away 2 rounds. If this was a 12 round contest we'd possibly start to swing slight more towards Chisora than we do (though we'd still favour Scott).
Betting
Earlier this week Chisora was the favourite priced around 4/6 whilst he is still the favourite the odds are narrowing and you can now get evens on Chisora if you shop around. Although Scott is the under-dog (5/4) he is where the value lies, especially in Scott by decision (13/8). The odds of course are closing however so the best idea is to shop around.
Prediction
We've seen how slow Chisora is and how quick Scott is. Scott made Glazkov, an Olympic medal winner, look slow and 1-dimensional and we dare say he'll do the same to Chisora. Unfortunately for Chisora, who has fought just 9 rounds in the last year, the speed differential will probably be too much to overcome.
Scott by UD
Of the two men Chisora is the more well known. Sure he has 4 losses on his record but they have come at a higher level to what Scott has been fighting. In all honesty it's the 4 losses that have helped to define Chisora as a warrior happy to face anyone.
Looking at Chisora's losses, which have come to world ranked contenders Tyson Fury, Robert Helenius and David Haye as well as world champion Vitali Klitschko there is little to be ashamed by. He has tested himself and fallen short against the top guys (and was very unfairly robbed of a victory against Helenius).
Scott on the other hand has had a reputation of a fighter who has been much more selective in his matchmaking. His skills have never been doubted but in his first 30 fights he had faced nobody of note.
Thankfully for Scott he has started to step up significantly in recent fights and has beaten Raphael Butler and Bowie Tupou in recent bouts as well as scoring a highly controversial draw with Vyacheslav Glazkov in a bout many felt Scott was robbed in.
Although the two men have very different records what they have in common is an attitude. Both are confident, brash and could very easily be described as having a "gangster" mentality. This has lead to some memorable build up though as we all know build can mean very little in the ring.
As well as the different records of the two men they also have very different styles.
Chisora is a somewhat plodding face first pressure fighter. He's not hugely skilled, particularly fast or even a big banger but he is hard working, tough and relentless. He will happily take a shot to land one and will stalk for 12 rounds if need be to try and break his opponent both mentally and psychically.
On the other hand Scott is amongst the best pure boxers in the Heavyweight division. He moves beautifully and fights off the jab, arguably the second best in the division. Like Chisora he lacks concussive power but has the sort of skill that we rarely see in the division and can use that skill to rattle off jabs before an opponent can set themselves.
On paper this bout is one of those great style battles of boxer v swarmer. If Chisora can get inside the jab of Scott then we'll see what Scott is really made of, if however the man known as "80-72" can establish the pace and distance of the jab he really could make Chisora look very basic.
With the bout scheduled for 10 rounds we're favouring Scott to eek out a decision. Against Glazkov he certainly slowed late in the bout and gave away 2 rounds. If this was a 12 round contest we'd possibly start to swing slight more towards Chisora than we do (though we'd still favour Scott).
Betting
Earlier this week Chisora was the favourite priced around 4/6 whilst he is still the favourite the odds are narrowing and you can now get evens on Chisora if you shop around. Although Scott is the under-dog (5/4) he is where the value lies, especially in Scott by decision (13/8). The odds of course are closing however so the best idea is to shop around.
Prediction
We've seen how slow Chisora is and how quick Scott is. Scott made Glazkov, an Olympic medal winner, look slow and 1-dimensional and we dare say he'll do the same to Chisora. Unfortunately for Chisora, who has fought just 9 rounds in the last year, the speed differential will probably be too much to overcome.
Scott by UD