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Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora are set to face off in an immediate rematch of their closely contested fight in May of this year. Their first matchup saw Chisora score a knockdown early in round one, yet suffer a close, split-decision loss to the former WBO heavyweight champion.
Derek Chisora (32-11, 23 KO) likely felt as though he got the short end of the stick in that decision, especially considering the fact that his career has been marked by an extensive series of close split or majority decision losses to the likes of Agit Kabayel, Dillian Whyte, Kubrat Pulev, and Robert Helenius.
While an immediate rematch is certainly warranted due to how close their first bout was, the action in the ring was far from exciting, and was marred by excessive holding. In his last two fights in particular, Parker (29-2, 21 KO) has been too content to accept and initiate the clinch, diminishing his ability to use his quality jab and create more offensive openings.
Hopefully their familiarity with one another will produce more action this second time around. An impressive victory could set either man up for an important fight down the road, provided the log-jam at the top of the division clears up sometime soon.