Tactical advice is offered to Derek Chisora by The Panel of experts ahead of Saturday's fight with Oleksandr Usyk, live on Sky Sports Box Office
Saturday 31 October 2020 14:04, UK
Derek Chisora will attempt to ruin Oleksandr Usyk's unbeaten record tonight, but how can he defeat the Ukrainian pound-for-pound star? The Panel provide their tactics...
Olympic gold medallist Usyk is yet to suffer a loss since joining the professional ranks, but Chisora has vowed to produce a stunning victory in Saturday night's fight, live on Sky Sports Box Office.
Former opponents, trainers, the promoter, and Sky Sports experts have given a possible game-plan for the British heavyweight when the first bell rings at Wembley Arena.
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Derek Chisora is a good-sized heavyweight and he has power. We're going to find out - can Usyk take the power, can he take the pressure? Can he dictate to Derek like he dictated to the likes of me with his feet? I don't think he can.
Derek Chisora has to start quick and be relentless.
Derek can only win this fight by outlasting Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk can win this fight in multiple ways, but for the first time in his life, he's going to get a man who is on his chest non-stop. This could be one of the worst styles possible for Oleksandr Usyk, barring a 6ft 9in tall Tyson Fury and a 6ft 6in tall Anthony Joshua.
Derek cannot afford to lose any rounds, early doors. He has to build an early lead, and make Usyk come to him in the second half of the fight. Just go all out for the first six. As we saw with Vasiliy Lomachenko against Teofimo Lopez, once those rounds have gone, it's very hard to gain the momentum back in the fight. Derek Chisora has to start quick and be relentless.
You can't take on somebody who is so technically proficient and skilful at their own game, unless you're as good as them, if not better.
You don't want to be following Usyk around the ring, getting out-boxed and out-jabbed and try to stage a late charge.
If I'm advising Chisora against Usyk, he's got to be told to get on him and close the distance. But he's got to be clever with it and put pressure on Usyk with his feet, back him into corners and cut the ring off. Use that jab to the stomach, jab to the shoulder, and when he's in range, he's got to just let his hands go. Hit him round the side of the head, the side of the ribs, lean on him, push him down.
Just make it rough as early as possible. The sooner he can make it rough for Usyk, and make him feel like he's gasping for air, and feeling the pressure, then the sooner he'll get the job done if he's going to go for the stoppage. He doesn't want to leave it late. You don't want to be following Usyk around the ring, getting out-boxed and out-jabbed and try to stage a late charge. He's got to get on him early.
It's so transparent what Chisora must do - find a way into Usyk's chest and do not stop punching. Make it horrible, make it dirty, whip them into his body and arms, to his head, anywhere. Easier said than done because Usyk's footwork is so good.
Chisora will get pinged from angles he didn't know existed, but he must keep at it.
Derek Chisora can't box on the back foot, he isn't going to move his head, feint and change angles to offset Usyk. That isn't going to happen.
Don't let this be a boxing match, because you'll get picked off. You've got to turn it into a dogfight.
The only way Chisora can beat him is - you've just got to get close to this guy. You've got to clinch him, you've got to wrestle him, you've got to be as dirty as you can possibly be, without being disqualified. Knock him out of his rhythm.
Don't let this be a boxing match, because you'll get picked off. You've got to turn it into a dogfight.
Derek has got to be consistent and put him under pressure by maintaining a high tempo from the start. Usyk will get even better as you get tired, because he will then control the pace, but Derek has to take the pace away from him.
Derek has to control the pace and make it hard from round one, all the way through.
He must make Usyk work constantly to parry him off by getting up close and personal with him. Don't give him time to pick up a rhythm.
If you can be consistent in what you're doing, and you saw it in Vasiliy Lomachenko's loss, then your opponent will not be able to move up a gear. He timed the fight wrong. Derek has to control the pace and make it hard from round one, all the way through.
He can't afford to walk onto Usyk in straight lines, thinking that he's going to overwhelm him with size and strength, because that will just not work.
I think the game-plan will be to get Derek on the jab, hit the body, and if you hit the body the head will fall. That will be the game-plan.
Derek has got to be very smart and approach it differently to how he's ever approached a fight in the past, because he's not facing a normal fighter here. He's facing an extremely smart and extremely athletic fighter that can do it all.
Usyk and Lomachenko, they do have a look, and then gradually round-by-round, ramp it up.
People have questioned whether Usyk is big enough, but I don't think anyone is going to be able to walk through him. He definitely hits hard enough that no-one can do that, which is what's going to be Chisora's big problem.
But Chisora has got to try and hurt Usyk early. Land something significant in the first few rounds. Usyk and Lomachenko, they do have a look, and then gradually round-by-round, ramp it up.
It's got to be educated obviously, but you've got to try and start quick against Usyk, who likes to set the pace and set the tempo. You cannot let him do that.
Watch Usyk vs Chisora on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, from 6pm. Book it via your Sky remote or book it online here. Even if you aren't a Sky TV subscriber you can book and watch it here.
