So on a skill level and ability, which challenger from the past, is Derek most like? In your opinion?
To me, Chisora is a durable journeyman/gatekeeper type who in today’s environment got elevated to fringe contender due to a lack of depth at the top and him being kind of the go-to guy to give someone a tough fight and lose in the UK. As a gatekeeper, he sure lets a lot of people through the door though. Only difference between him and Ferguson is that he had a bit of promotional help behind him to keep his record clean enough to create the appearance that beating him actually means something.
It’s one of those things where you put guys like that in enough fights against top competition that they can catch someone of an off night or just notch that one big win and suddenly you can make them a voluntary title defense if you choose to do so. Chisora is kinda like that too.
I'd say Bert Cooper both men gave most of their opposition tough fights if they were on their game, although I'd say Coopers peak level is higher than Chisora's.
Wasn’t Bert a sub for a sub when he fought Holyfield? Seems like Damiani fell out due to training injury and then someone else. I remember some scribe, maybe Michael Katz, had a line like; Subs are only heroes in sandwich shops.
Cooper definitely occured to me but yeah I'd say his ceiling was higher than chisora esp if you consider that cooper had a horrible drug addiction for his career. Doug Jones? A guy who could give ATGs a hard time beat some very good guys challenged for a title against a big kinda stiff guy.
He was yeah I remember the British commentator Colin Hart said something like "Damiani would be running 100 yards in other direction, atleast Cooper will give us a fight"
And boy did he ever. I was there live (as I was for Holy’s hometown fights against Qawi I and Vaughn Bean) and two of those were bangers — as Meat Loaf told us, two out of three ain’t bad.
Being at those fights live must of been an amazing experience, I wasn't even born when those fights took place. As for Bean I recall he had a stinker vs Moorer aswell, he didn't seem to bring out the best in his opponents.
Nobody is as devastating as Chisora. It's a testament to Fury's bravery that he is facing him 3 times.