Derek Chisora Beats Joe Joyce: But At What Cost?

Derek Chisora Beats Joe Joyce: But At What Cost?

There was a time I would have enjoyed what Derek Chisora and Joe Joyce served up on Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London. Maybe it’s because I’m now at an age where I have seen some of the fighters I once worshipped growing up reduced to being virtual prisoners in their own bodies. Too many fights. Too many punches absorbed. A failure to walk away when the time was right. Damaged beyond repair. Memories are faded. We can remember their peaks. They are unable to do so.

I fear Chisora and Joyce will become further victims of a brutal sport. Both are badly faded fighters. To me, who won was irrelevant. I’m not sure there will be any winners when their stories are told in later years. I hope I am wrong. I really do. I might have it completely wrong. But an interview I did earlier this week probably tells me I have it exactly right. That fighter couldn’t walk away. She will now likely be paying a heavy price for the rest of her life. She is just forty-two.

Chisora and Joyce have traded on their toughness throughout their long careers. Never a good sign for your future health once the final bell has chimed. Often, in such circumstances, it’s a matter of when and not if the effects of a long hard career will catch up with them. Chisora at 40, Joyce at 38, brought their patented resilience to the proceedings. A fight that lacked the finer nuances of their craft. It looked as though it was fought in slow motion at times. Both lumbered forward for ten brutal rounds. Another thirty minutes exchanging punches that their bodies didn’t need to feel. It was an uncomfortable watch. Brave beyond the call of duty. Chisora and Joyce gave everything. The crowd cheered. Some will undoubtedly say that they enjoyed it. But how could you? Do those cheerleaders ever think of what lies ahead for these two incredibly tough warriors?

Chisora got the win. A unanimous decision win that was earned in the usual hard, unforgiving manner. Choose started well but looked to be fading away as the fight was closing out. An exhausted Chisora looked on the verge of being stopped in the 8th round. Joyce finally looked to have found some kind of rhythm. The 9th had the look of the final chapter of the night. But Chisora, who kept swinging all night long, and one big looping right hand suddenly turned the fight back in his favour. Joyce found himself on the canvas. The supposed iron chin now a thing of the past. A distant memory of what Joyce relied on for far too long. A punch that had a pivotal three-point swing in that round. From the brink of victory. Joyce now looked on the verge of defeat. Any chance Joyce had was lost with that one punch thrown in despair. The scores of 97-92, 96-94, and 96-94, couldn’t really be argued with. I had Chisora up by three points at the end of another desperately hard affair for both fighters. In truth, neither looked good. I am being kind.

Both indicated that they would fight on. Predictable, but also incredibly worrying. Chisora wants two more fights to reach that fifty-fight milestone. More of the same. Another few steps to a bleaker future.

Joyce, perhaps a little more surprising, also indicated he too would fight on. Although his promoter, Frank Warren seemed more in tune with reality, saying they needed to talk and realising that those bruising hard fights eventually catch up with you. They might already have done irreparable damage. When that talk comes, Joyce needs to listen and those who cheer and still want more should remember that everything has a price. Enough is enough.

While I can admire many things about the fight, I just couldn’t enjoy it. As every heavy blow thudded home, I couldn’t stop thinking about the damage that was being done to those two proud fighters. Chisora and Joyce have been great servants to the sport. They should be remembered long after they have ridden into the sunset. Hopefully, both fighters can still remember their careers in the coming years. That could very well be the greatest victory of their careers.