Vitali Klitschko vs Dereck Chisora: Can Chisora Pull off a Douglas/Tyson Shock?

On 18th February 2012 at the Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany, Vitali Klitshcko will defend his WBC World Heavyweight Title against British challenger Dereck Chisora.

The major problem facing both Klitschko brothers at the moment is a lack of serious viable opponents that can test them.

The two brothers are not to blame for this and they are keeping the Heavyweight division alive, hopefully until some new blood can provide them with a major challenge.

In the meantime Vitali Klitschko has decided to give the latest title shot to Chisora who has only had 17 previous contests. Originally Chisora was due to face Wladimir Klitschko before the fight was called off due to Wladimir suffering injury.

With a solid amateur background, Chisora has so far proven himself to be a durable and exciting boxer to watch.

Chisora's last fight was a 12 round war with Robert Helenius. In one of the most shocking decisions of last year, Helenius was awarded the victory by split decision when most in attendance felt Chisora was a clear winner.

In the Helenius fight, Chisora proved beyond question that he could take a punch. More importantly, Chisora as a smaller fighter was able to show that he could easily match fighters much larger than him.

Vitali Klitschko is only one inch taller than Helenius, and Chisora will not worry about the height advantage. The main question is: how much harder can Vitali hit than Helenius?

Although many casual boxing fans and those with a passing interest may see this as another mismatch, Chisora is a natural heavyweight who has proven in the past that he will not fight on the counter or resort to defensive tactics.

Chisora's attacking style does leave him open to punishment, and this was exposed against rising heavyweight star Tyson Fury. However, Chisora came into the fight much heavier than usual relying on power rather than speed and this cost him the chance of winning the bout.

The best chance for Chisora to pull off a massive upset in this fight will be in the early rounds. So long as Chisora comes into the fight in the same shape as he did for the Helenius fight, he will have a good chance at using his speed and power to test Vitali's chin.

If the fight goes into the later rounds, the punching power of Vitali may wear down Chisora more than Helenius was able to.

Chisora has shown that he can fight to the bitter end but in order for the contest to be memorable he must keep going forward.

Many of the previous fighters to face Vitali just seem to give up towards the end and look to survive, a notable exception being the brave former cruiserweight champion Tomasz Adamek.

Will we see another Buster Douglas-style underdog shock on 18th February? There is always that slight possibility.