Derek Chisora Should Retire. And Now

Derek Chisora Should Retire. And Now

There should be no thoughts of Derek Chisora ever fighting again. Not one.

There should be no great search to try and find a lesser safer opponent. That is missing the point. And badly. Whoever he fights will still be repeatedly punching Chisora in the head, almost certainly reducing the quality of his life in later years. We may already be somewhere down line on that score. And where does that supposed ‘safe’ opponent lead to after? Remember the win over Kubrat Pulev led to what we saw on Saturday night. There were even suggestions that it could have led to Deontay Wilder. Chisora and boxing were lucky it didn’t. At some point, it has to stop. That point is now. The sorry episode with Tyson Fury should be the final act. It was the 13th defeat in his career, and the hope is, it won’t be too unlucky for him in the coming years.

Some of the 60,000 fans at the home of Tottenham Hotspur booed the decision to wave the fight off after 10 rounds that largely followed the same brutal one-sided pattern. Were they not watching the same fight? Don’t they care what it was potentially doing to Chisora? Where was the compassion? I know it’s a blood sport, but there is a limit. Fury was spiteful, accurate and doing untold damage to Chisora. The challenger needed putting out of his misery. We all did.

Boxing is a business, but also the hurt business, and Chisora will likely one day regret his decision to chase whatever he has been chasing these last few years. At 38, he should now accept his fate, and the reality of his situation, and have an eye on his future. The longer it goes on, that future is likely to be very bleak indeed. Chisora might not think too much about what lies ahead. He should and so should any potential future promoter and any fan who wants to see more of what we witnessed on Saturday night in London. If Chisora doesn’t care. Others should care for him. He badly needs protecting from himself.

Chisora has more than hinted that he will likely carry on, and that he doesn’t want to go out like he did against Fury. But it is likely to end much worse for him. And what really is the point of fighting on? The fighting abilities are damaged beyond repair, and the quality of his later years might also be. Where will further fights lead, other than the road to nowhere? I never want to see Chisora fight again, I care what damage future fights will do to his brain. And what degeneration might already be there.

The fight with Fury wasn’t in any way shape or form entertaining. It most certainly wasn’t sport, certainly not in the purest sense. It was senseless in every way imaginable and it was distinctly uncomfortable viewing. I don’t buy the argument that Fury carried him for 10 rounds. And if he did, he wasn’t doing his old mate any favours whatsoever. The kindest ending would have been a clinical one inside a couple of rounds. It wasn’t competitive, and one of the few fights I have watched that left me completely numb, and questioning where boxing is today, and even my love and involvement in it.

Tris Dixon covered the effects of repeated blows to the head in his thought-provoking and must-read book Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing. Anyone thinking Chisora should carry on should read that book. The effects of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) are thankfully, but far too belatedly, getting more mainstream coverage. The evidence is loud and clear. Fighters have to know when the time is right to get out. Or if their delusion continues, they should be made to. Even in the wild west of the boxing world, regulations should be there to make a decision for a fighter who can’t accept his day in the sun is over. I’ve seen too many fighters from my youth suffer later in life because they didn’t get out when they should. Matthew Saad Muhammad, Donald Curry, Muhammad Ali, I could go on. And on.

Chisora should have retired last year after the fearful battering he received at the hands of Jospeh Parker in Manchester. I was ringside that night, and Chisora was brave far beyond the call of duty, and while I admired his heroic stand, I hoped it would be his last. But his refusal to accept reality and willing promoters who saw further value in his name have led to two more fights and further damage accumulated. Chisora has been an incredible servant for British boxing and has brought so much entertainment to his craft. I have seen more than enough, in truth, I reached that point in Manchester last December. I just want Chisora to retire and be able to enjoy his retirement. And not just for now. For the rest of his life.

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