Dereck Chisora

[oogiebe]

Appreciation for a journeyman HW. Thoughts?
He Fought:

• Sam Sexton
  Danny Williams (another one who doesn't get the respect he deserves)
  Kubrat Pulev
  Robert Helenius
  Tyson Fury
  David Haye
  Vitali Klitchko
  Kevin Johnson
  Malik Scott
  Agit Kabayel
  Dillian Whyte

[gilgamesh]

It'd be easier to appreciate him if he didn't show a complete lack of class in smacking Vitali Klitschko at the Press conference, and put up a stinker of an effort against Tyson Fury and David Haye.

He's a solid, fringe contender type though.

Still a somewhat tough out, but any Heavyweight worth their salt beats him. That was true then, and it's true now.

[Cyclops]

He fought the best he could against David Haye and gave him a hard work out.

Derecks bad behaviour at press conferences etc is also what has kept him in fights. I'm reliably informed that Del was genuinely "on road" before he was a boxer and was a very naughty boy.

He's blatantly a Nasty piece of work but he's one of my favourites.

[Mexi-Box]

Sorry, did you seriously call Chisora a journeyman? Guy, Chisora is no journeyman. What the hell!?

[tiny_acres]

Sorry, did you seriously call Chisora a journeyman? Guy, Chisora is no journeyman. What the hell!?

I'd call him a good journeyman.
He's definitely not a contender

[gilgamesh]

Sorry, did you seriously call Chisora a journeyman? Guy, Chisora is no journeyman. What the hell!?

I'd call him a good journeyman.
He's definitely not a contender

Fringe Contender is accurate.

[tiny_acres]

Sorry, did you seriously call Chisora a journeyman? Guy, Chisora is no journeyman. What the hell!?

I'd call him a good journeyman.
He's definitely not a contender

Fringe Contender is accurate.

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

[gilgamesh]

I'd call him a good journeyman.
He's definitely not a contender

Fringe Contender is accurate.

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

[Mexi-Box]

Both of you are wrong. He's a high-level gatekeeper at his worst. At his best, he's a contender. Guy beat undefeated (got robbed) Helenius, Malik Scott, and he should have a win over current contender Whyte. That's not near a journeyman.

[Mexi-Box]

Fringe Contender is accurate.

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

No you're not.

[tiny_acres]

Fringe Contender is accurate.

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper is the perfect word.

[oogiebe]

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper is the perfect word.

[KiwiRider]

I'm a fan, and a realist.
Gatekeeper- yes, but a high level one, the sort you want to face just before your ready for a silver belt.
I think he can still play an important part at that level- as long as he is motivated ($$$) he will present an experienced, durable HW who can go 12 rounds. Given the state of the division outside the top ten, beating Del Boy is an important step in a boxer's development. Not many gatekeepers can go 12 either in HW. Helienis can but without much resistance, Takem would be the guy you fight after Del, and then go for a belt.

[gilgamesh]

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

No you're not.

Journeyman is one of the most disputed terms among Boxing fans. It means something different to different fans.

[gilgamesh]

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper is the perfect word.

Yeah I think so too. If you're something special you'll beat Chisora, if you can't beat him...you ain't special.

[Lackeos]

Chisora is about 40-50 ranks better than the best journeyman. A journeyman should lose to Malik Scott 100% of the time. A journeyman should only be able to beat Kevin Johnson, Ondrej Pala, and Edmund Greber like 8% of the time. Journeymen get brought in to be guaranteed losers, but at least they are durable and slick enough to go rounds (guarantee entertainment for the crowd and force improvement in a prospect), and at least they have like 20 wins on their resume. A journeyman doesn't make money as an A-side; his main means of doing business is by losing to lots and lots and lots of contenders, gatekeepers, and prospects. A journeyman might have a 20-20 record, but you've usually heard of almost all 20 opponents whom he lost to (and probably have heard of only a small number of the opponents he beat). Journeymen are generally outside the top 100. A journeyman is someone like Manuel Pucheta, Nagy Aguilera, Jason Bergman, Willie Herring, Marcelo Nascimento, Evgeny Orlov, Sebastian Ceballos, Byron Polley, Danny Williams, Saul Farah, Michael Sprott, Raphael Zumbano, Denis Bakhtov, Oleksiy Mazikin, Andrew Greeley, Epifanio Mendoza, Galen Brown, Stacy Frazier, Richard Carmack, Matthew Greer, and Bob Mirovic.

A gatekeeper is a fighter who basically loses to contenders over 90% of the time, but beats journeymen over 90% of the time. They are basically literally guarding the gate that you have to pass through to be a contender. A gatekeeper needs to be well tested and have legit wins, otherwise they can't possibly serve a gatekeeper's purpose -- to be proven good enough such that a win against him validates you as a contender. Most gatekeepers had a run of beating numerous journeymen and a few gatekeepers before they were found out as not being good enough for a title shot (or they've already gotten their title shot and they lost), and got repurposed as gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are ranked about #20-80. A gatekeeper is someone like Artur Szpilka, Amir Mansour, Gerald Washington, Alexander Dimitrenko, Robert Helenius, David Price, Alexander Ustinov, Eric Molina, Joey Dawejko, Travis Kauffman, Alex Leapai, Derric Rossy, Kevin Johnson etc.

A contender is someone who could conceivably get a call to fight for a title and legitimately deserve it. They have beaten gatekeepers, and possibly another contender. Contenders are generally ranked about #5-15. Contenders include Povetkin, Ortiz, Pulev, Whyte, Miller, Parker, Breazeale, Kownacki, Ruiz Jr, Hammer, Martin, Hughie, and Kabayel.

Dereck Chisora has often been ranked in the #8-12 area up until recently, when he's fallen on some poor momentum. He has already fought for a world title, and by that definition, he should already be a contender. He beat another contender -- Malik Scott, and that as well implies that he is of the contender caliber. But with his official losses to Whyte and Kabayel, and his lack of a clear key victory in a while, he is slipping into a zone between the lowest-ranking contenders and the highest-ranking gatekeepers. Another similar fighter is Carlos Takam. Takam gave Joshua, Povetkin, and Parker an extremely hard time. Takam also beat a fellow contender (Tony Thompson), and he also literally fought for a world title; and I won't stand for Takam being called a gatekeeper, because he is too contenderish for that. Just a little below Chisora is Johann Duhaupas, who literally fought for a world title, but his best wins are just Helenius and Charr. Teper, Wach, and Browne are more members of the contender-gatekeeper border class. Anyone below these types is a gatekeeper.

[SenorPipino]

Fringe Contender is accurate.

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

Gatekeeper, (very) fringe contender seem like accurate descriptions of Chisora.

Too many losses to high level opponents disqualifies him from being considered a contender.

A true contender is someone who has a realistic shot to win a world title. Few would feel that Chisora could dethrone any of the champions.

I don't think he should be described as a journeyman. Not yet anyway.

But the loss to Kabayel may eventually be regarded as the start. A gatekeeper journeyman.

[Lennox]

I hate to disagree but he will never be more than a good journeyman. And there is no disgrace in it

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

No you're not.

Mexi box is right. High level gatekeeper. He has been a top 20 heavyweight for 10 years.

[ewenhay]

A contender at one time. Been a gatekeeper for some time. A journeyman future awaits unfortunately

[Heretic]

A contender at one time. Been a gatekeeper for some time. A journeyman future awaits unfortunately

My thoughts exactly.

Loosing to Kabayel is a bad sign.

Dereck "Hogat" Chisora.

[joshj909]

I'd agree with the term gatekeeper for him. A win over Chisora is a great win for boxers on their way up because he usually puts on a solid test in his losses, if you ignore Kabayel recently.

His press conferences are entertaining because he genuinely has a screw loose, but he's only in it for the money so press conference antics tends to up the viewers and therefore £££.

[oogiebe]

It ain't worth arguing about. Fringe Contender/Good Journeyman...you're just splitting hairs really. Either one is basically accurate.

He's a Gatekeeper.

No you're not.

Journeyman is one of the most disputed terms among Boxing fans. It means something different to different fans.

It should be a badge of honor.

[DrDuke]

I agree with the opinion, that Chisora isn't a journeyman, but a gatekeeper, a fringe contender, etc.

[gilgamesh]

If Chisora is a gatekeeper or a journeyman than Dillan Whyte is a step below that.

Whyte beat Chisora

[tiny_acres]

If Chisora is a gatekeeper or a journeyman than Dillan Whyte is a step below that.

Whyte beat Chisora

That is extremely arguable. A decision win does not constitute BEATING anyone.
The fight was close in my opinion and could of gone either way.
Some are adamant that Chisora won that fight. Close close fight but not a robbery in my opinion