It's a trilogy fight nobody asked for, and Chris Oliver expects Tyson Fury to stop Dereck Chisora in the second half of their final meeting.
Boxing betting tips: Fury v Chisora
2pts Tyson Fury to win in rounds 7-12 at 13/5 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
1pt Daniel Dubois to win in rounds 1-4 at 15/8 (Sky Bet)
It may be pantomime season but even TYSON FURY and Dereck Chisora's latest show on Saturday night is hard to believe.
As he waits for Oleksandr Usyk to be ready for their slated meeting for all the marbles in the spring, Fury has opted for a tune-up and has wheeled out the old villain in Chisora for a trilogy fight nobody asked for.
Fury claims that Chisora remains a top-10 heavyweight and is the best available opponent (oh, no he isn't!), but few are buying are that, or tickets for the event at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, if rumours of slow sales are to be believed. The lack of demand for this third instalment should come as no surprise, given that we've seen this story twice before and we know how it ends.
Fury dominated Chisora over 12 rounds for a wide-margin victory on the scorecards in their British and Commonwealth title encounter in 2011, before dishing out a one-sided beating in their return three years later when 'Del Boy' retired on his stool after 10 rounds.
'The Gypsy King' is as short as 1/40 and a best price of 1/16 to record his 33rd career victory against Chisora, who can be backed at 14/1 to prevail in this unexpected second shot at a world title. It has been 10 years and nine defeats since his first crack at this same WBC belt against Vitali Klitschko, now Chisora somehow gets another opportunity just a few miles down the road from his home in Finchley.
It's not as if Chisora arrives in the form of his life, either. He's been involved in more wars than most during his 45-fight career (33-12) and the calls for him to call it a day were louder than ever when, in losing for the third time in a row, his notorious resilience looked to be seriously waning when dropped three times by Joseph Parker en route to another points defeat last December.
Yes, he bounced back with a split decision victory over Kubrat Pulev in July, but his 41-year-old opponent was equally shop-worn and the lacklustre spectacle the pair served up was tough viewing.
Fury, on the other hand, confirmed his position at the top of the heavyweight tree with a comfortable victory Dillian Whyte when last seen in April.
The champion picked his countryman apart from the outside before brutally knocking him out with a stunning uppercut at the end of the sixth round, much to the delight of the 94,000 packed into Wembley Stadium. In short, the unbeaten 34-year-old looks as good as ever and it's almost impossible to make a logical case for him coming unstuck here.
Many of those stumping up the eye-watering £26.95 (a UK record) for this pay-per-view show will be wanting a successful wager to recoup their outlay, but that may not be as straightforward as it seems in what looks a mismatch on paper.
Let's not forget, these two became close friends after their last encounter and there is a serious chance of an old pals' act being at play here. Fury giving his buddy one last big pay day and going easy on him is a distinct possibility, as is the champion not wanting to justify all the criticism of this fight by blowing Chisora away early.
Fury has reacted angrily to the pelters he has received from fans and media alike for his choice of opponent, so an early finish would only add fuel to that fire. Attempting to second-guess what Fury is thinking is always a dangerous game, though.
You get the feeling that this will end when Fury wants it to end. He was still in 'hit and move' mode in their first two fights, but the new, more aggressive version of Fury is capable of meeting Chisora head on and running right through him, hence the 4/11 about him winning by stoppage.
However, for all Chisora may be well past his best and appear to pose little threat here, you can bank on him giving it his all and we know he won't go down without a fight. With that in mind, along with the possibility of Fury not wanting to end it too early, I am more interested in the 9/4 about the favourite winning in the SECOND HALF of the fight, rather than the first half at 11/8.
These two both know how to entertain, and I fancy they will want to put on a bit of show early doors, before getting down to serious business and that is when Fury can really make the 38-year-old Chisora look every bit his age.
The champion is on a run of three-straight knockout wins, and I don't expect that streak to stop this weekend, with the 6'9" champion really starting to 'put it on' the challenger in the middle rounds. The ending shouldn't come too long after when he does.
Fireworks from Dubois
The heavyweight theme continues on the undercard as DANIEL DUBOIS aims to further his ascendancy when he takes on Kevin Lerena.
Since losing to Joe Joyce two years ago, Dubois has made serious improvements under the guidance of top coach Shane McGuigan and has won all three subsequent outings in quick and impressive fashion. He captured the WBA 'regular' belt when knocking out the previously unbeaten Trevor Bryan in four one-sided rounds in June and is expected to do something similar to Lerena.
Lerena (28-1) has only once boxed outside of his native South Africa and is 9/1 to spring an upset here, but that looks as unlikely as the odds suggest. The former cruiserweight has won all three outings since stepping up to the glamour division but concedes size and reach advantages here and that may prove insurmountable.
The smaller man has fast hands and comes to fight but may struggle to get inside to land his shots thanks to the excellent jab of Dubois, who uses his lead left-hand as a real weapon and not just a rangefinder. His jab also sets up his huge right hand nicely and, with only the granite-jawed Joyce able to stand up to that shot so far, Lerena could soon be sent packing.
Boasting 17 knockouts from 18 outings, the hard-hitting Dubois hasn't been past four rounds in any of his three fights since that sole loss and it is 15/8 that he ends this one in the FIRST QUARTER again. That could be the way to go in what should be an exciting contest while it lasts.
Tyson Fury v Derek Chisora 3: Date, start time, TV channel and cost
This Trilogy fight is taking place on Saturday, December 3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
The undercard is expected to begin from around 5pm GMT, with the main event to start between 9.15pm and 9.40pm GMT - which is slightly earlier than usual due to the 'stadium fight curfew'.
This fight will be a pay-per-view event in the UK and will be shown on BT Sport Box Office. It will cost £26.95 and coverage will start at 6pm.
The clash will also be available to live stream on the BT Sport Box Office app.
You can also listen to the fight on talkSPORT.
Tyson Fury v Derek Chisora 3: Running order and undercard
- Tyson Fury vs Derek Chisora – for WBC heavyweight title
- Daniel Dubois vs Kevin Lerena – for WBA (Regular) heavyweight title
- Yvan Mendy vs Denys Berinchyk – lightweight
- Karol Itauma vs Vladimir Belujsky – light-heavyweight
- Hosea Burton vs TBA – cruiserweight
- Isaac Lowe vs Sandeep Singh Bhatti – super-featherweight
- Royston Barney Smith vs Cruz Perez – lightweight
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