Chisora drops Wallin twice in decision win to end emotional day
British fan favorite says he'll fight just once more in 50th of his career
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British fan favorite Derek Chisora scored two knockdowns against Otto Wallin en route to a unanimous decision in one of his most impressive performances in years in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator for the No. 2 position that headlined the Queensberry Promotions card on Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
The fight was the 49th of Chisora’s career and beforehand he insisted it would be his last on British soil, which is why Queensberry Promotions’ Frank Warren dubbed it “The Last Dance.” Though Chisora hedged afterward on it being his last British fight, he did continue to insist that he will wrap up his 18-year career of ups and downs and having faced a who’s who of his time with fight No. 50.
That could be a big one too, as in a possible title shot against the winner of the Feb. 22 fight between IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois and former WBO titleholder Joseph Parker.
But first Chisora had to take care of Wallin and he did so in good fashion, winning 117-109, 116-110 and a stunningly close 114-112, which would have been a draw had he not dropped Wallin in the ninth round and again in the final seconds of the 12th round.
With luminaries such as Roberto Duran and good pal Tyson Fury at ringside, Chisora did what he almost always does — give the fans their time and monies worth with an entertaining battle that had some rough moments, although he seemed to dominate most of the fight.