Derek Chisora invites you to play one of boxing’s hardest games

Derek “Del Boy” Chisora has been climbing through the boxing ropes since 2007, and on Saturday night he insists his journey will come to an end.

Chisora will have his 49th and final fight, in Manchester against Otto Wallin, in what will be his 19th year as a professional boxer. He is the last of a breed of heavyweight contenders.

Chisora, who is now 41, claims that Wallin will be his final fight, the last in a long, long line of hard fights; a win would certainly make him popular, and a defeat, which is a very real prospect, might convince him that enough is finally enough. However, trying to guess Chisora’s next move is one of boxing’s hardest games.

There is bold talk of fights in Africa and Saudi Arabia. Still, “I have nothing left to prove in boxing,” Chisora said. “I have enjoyed it, that is why I do it: I just love to fight.”

He went a full 10 years once between world title fights, he loves a challenge, and his profile means he is unlikely to be allowed to walk away. He has shaved half of his head, but what remains would still be a valuable scalp for any of the hungry, young pretenders out there.

Chisora has proved his quality in close to 15 years of real fights, 15 years of often going against the odds in perhaps 20 hard and too often ferocious fights. He has pushed some very good fighters to the limits in gruelling and tricky bouts on memorable nights.

Chisora should have fought for the world title a couple more times, but Wladimir Klitschko twice pulled out and then Chisora seemed to be invisible. The great Manny Steward, who trained Klitschko, admitted that Chisora was all wrong for his boxer; both withdrawals were cruel, and the first is still shrouded in controversy.

“I have no regrets about this business,” said Chisora. “It’s tough, man. You get breaks and you get setbacks, that is just the way it is.”

The Chisora from 2010, the year of the first proposed Wladimir fight, was a dangerous man, a swarming fighter and similar in style to an American heavyweight from the Seventies. Chisora has been fighting on instinct for years, but he remains an uncompromising obstacle, a handful even in the twilight shadows of his extraordinary career.

Chisora is regarded as boxing royalty now, a survivor from a distant past, a man with history in small halls and as the main event on massive nights. He has been controversial, banned, suspended and fined, but he has always been entertaining.

“Hardest fight? Hardest night?” said Chisora. “That was probably the first fight with Sam Sexton – we were both unbeaten and we were thrown in there to see who would go on.” Chisora is right and that six-rounder, at York Hall in 2008, was a tiny classic; Sexton had won seven pro fights, Chisora four, and on the night Chisora won in the final round. It was an early test and he came through it.

Chisora went on, winning the British title from Danny Williams at Upton Park, and then it all got a bit crazy.

Three fights with Tyson Fury, two fights with Dillian Whyte, two with Joseph Parker, the tough clash with Oleksandr Usyk. The first world title bout with Vitali Klitschko, the fight outside and then inside the ring with David Haye, the overseas scraps against unbeaten men when the odds were heavily stacked against him. Del Boy was fearless.

So far, he has lost 13 and won 35 of his 48 fights, and he is still winning; in his last fight, which he was meant to lose, he beat Joe Joyce over 10 hard rounds. Trust me, nobody has a record like that now in boxing. Chisora follows men like Ron Lyle (43-7), Earnie Shavers (76-14) and Jimmy Young (35-18). Chisora belongs in another time and place.

“Otto is a very dangerous fighter,” admitted Chisora. “He is not an easy fight to finish my career.” In 29 fights, Wallin has lost just twice: on points to Tyson Fury and by stoppage to Anthony Joshua. The Swede is seven years younger than Chisora, four inches taller and a difficult southpaw.

It is another test for Chisora. It might, just possibly, be the last one – and we will miss him when he is gone.