Joseph Parker can confirm his technical superiority with a decision win when he faces Dereck Chisora for the second time on Saturday night.
Boxing betting tips: Parker v Chisora II
3pts Joseph Parker by decision 6/4 (General)
1pt Lerrone Richards by decision 7/4 (BetVictor)
1pt Jack Cullen by decision 13/8 (Sky Bet)
It's the final fight weekend of the year and a solid show in Manchester on DAZN brings the curtain down on the UK action for 2021.
If Christmas viewing is all about nostalgia and revisiting your old favourites, then British boxing is very much getting into that spirit as the popular Dereck Chisora tops the bill in his rematch with JOSEPH PARKER. Largely thanks to his unpredictability on both sides of the ropes, Chisora has become something of a cult hero on these shores and the time has come again to try to forecast which version of 'Del Boy' will turn up on Saturday night.
His 32-11 record has seen more ups and downs than a rollercoaster and it looked like he could be on for the biggest high of his career to date when he dropped Parker in the first 10 seconds of their clash in May. The Finchley resident was at his marauding best in the early rounds and was seemingly in front at the halfway stage of an interesting contest. However, slowly but surely Parker began to work out the aggressive puzzle in front of him and, utilising his superior footwork, outboxed Chisora for long periods down the stretch to secure a split decision victory.
While it was a close contest, the right man appeared to get the nod and there was no great clamour for a return, apart from those in the Chisora camp. That doesn't mean there isn't a fair amount of interest in the fight, especially in the quest to find a Christmas winner, and Parker to land another POINTS WIN looks to fit the bill at 6/4.
The New Zealander is a 4/9 favourite to register a sixth straight victory since his back-to-back defeats to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte in 2018 and, at just 29 years old, still has serious hopes of regaining a world title.
Much of the talk ahead of this rematch has been about the head trainers for each man. Parker only had eight weeks with new coach Andy Lee ahead of the first encounter and he has promised we will see a much better performance now they've had more time to work together.
Chisora, who was trained by Buddy McGirt earlier in the year, is back under the guidance of Dave Coldwell, who knows his man well. The last time they worked together - Chisora produced a second-round stoppage against Artur Szpilka in what may have been a career-best performance. However, time waits for no man and the clock is certainly ticking on Chisora's career at this level. After a long and punishing time as a professional, it would be some achievement if he can secure arguably his biggest scalp in career outing number 44, with his 38th birthday just over a week away.
We know what to expect from the home fighter, who will be relentless in his march forward as he looks to get up close and fire off combinations to body and head. While this could yield some success in the opening few rounds again, the durable Parker can weather the storm and take over once Chisora he begins to slow down a little. The favourite will know more about what is coming his way now and should be better prepared to deal with it, being fully aware he can't afford to spend too much time on the ropes like last time. He had success with his lead left hand once he found his range and that can be his main scoring weapon again.
Parker's movement and quicker feet were evident in the summer and that is his key to victory again. He isn't the most ferocious of punchers and unless the well has run completely dry for Chisora, who has only been stopped on three occasions, then all the clues point to the judges being needed for the visitor to secure another victory.
These two mean business.#ParkerChisora2 pic.twitter.com/oiDiBpKlqJ
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) December 16, 2021
Best bets for the undercard
There is some good action on the undercard, not least a fascinating bout between LERRONE RICHARDS and Carlos Gongora.
Both these super-middleweights bring perfect records to the table and are still very much on the rise, so something has to give. Gongora has mixed in better company, with his standout moment being a last-round knockout of the previously unbeaten Ali Akhmedov when well behind on the scorecards exactly a year ago to the day, and it is no surprise to see him edging favouritism at 8/13. He carries a serious dig on him and will be coming to bring the heat all night long again.
However, that could play right into the hands of Richards, a southpaw blessed with silky skills, and he may be capable of making the aggressor miss and pay for much of the night. It won't be easy, but the Surrey man is taken to box his way to a DECISION WIN and the 7/4 available for that outcome looks fair enough.
JACK CULLEN's reward for beating Avni Yildirim is a European title shot against Kevin Lele Sadjo and this looks like another well-matched contest in the 168lb division.
Sadjo arrives from France with a 16-0 record and has stopped 14 of his victims, so this will be no walk in the park for Cullen. However, the latter is on a real roll at present and, after causing somewhat of an upset when handing the highly-regarded John Docherty his first defeat, the 28-year-old was brilliant in outworking and outpointing the more experienced Yildirim in July.
Tall and rangy with a great engine, he can repeat the dose here and claim another good POINTS VICTORY at 13/8.
Posted at 1215 GMT on 17/12/21
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