Dereck Chisora vs. Malik Scott: Preview and Prediction for Heavyweight Bout

This Saturday, July 20, heavyweight contenders will collide in London, England, as hometown fighter Dereck Chisora welcomes American Malik Scott to Wembley Arena.

This is a classic clash of styles. The former world-title challenger, Chisora, is a wild brawler, and the undefeated Scott is a technician. The winner probably won't get a title shot but will take a step further up the line.

This is a relevant fight within the heavyweight division.

Tale of the Tape

Per BoxRec.com	Malik Scott	Dereck Chisora
Record:	35-0-1, 12 KO's	16-4, 10 KO's
Height:	6'4"	6'1.5"
Reach:	Unlisted	74"
Weight:	225-230 lbs	245-250 lbs
Age:	32	29
Stance:	Orthodox	Orthodox
Hometown:	Philadelphia, Pa.	London, U.K.
Rounds:	215	119

Malik Scott has fought a lot of rounds and won a lot of fights, but his quality of opposition has been less than impressive. Chisora's fought just 20 times as a professional but has already challenged for a world title and faced some of the top-rated heavyweights in England and the rest of Europe.

Scott took a three-year break from 2009 to 2012 and has returned to action as a much leaner fighter. Chisora has come into fights at over 260 pounds but has been much more effective when he tips the scale at the weight listed here.

Main Storylines

Malik Scott is a former amateur standout who narrowly lost in the finals at the 2000 Olympic Trials. He turned pro shortly afterward, and from 2000 to 2009, he compiled a perfect 32-0 record against strictly third- and fourth-rate competition.

Scott has a reputation as an avoided fighter. He may be the best technical boxer among American heavyweights, but he has a KO percentage of just 33 percent. His inability to get meaningful fights is partly due to opponents not wanting to risk losing to him, but it's also a consequence of promoters opting for heavyweights with less skill and more excitement.

Scott retired from the sport from 2009 to 2012 but has appeared better conditioned and more focused since returning to action. He won three straight, including a Round 8 TKO of Bowie Tupou last September.

In February of this year, Scott finally got a good opportunity, headlining an NBC Sports card against 14-0 Vyacheslav Glazkov. Scott thoroughly out-boxed Glazkov, yet came away with a draw in what I rank as the worst decision of the year so far. Only judge John Poturaj, who scored 98-92 for Scott, seemed to be watching the same fight I was.

Dereck Chisora's raw but exciting style has earned him a career as a sort of opponent to the stars. He lost a unanimous decision to Tyson Fury in July 2011 and a split decision to an injured Robert Helenius that December, which a lot of people thought he should have won.

The loss to Helenius improbably earned Chisora a shot at Vitali Klitschko. Klitschko injured himself early in the fight and spent most of the night holding off the rugged Del Boy with one arm, winning a unanimous decision by wide margins.

Chisora notoriously brawled with fellow British heavyweight David Haye at the press conference following the Klitschko fight, causing an international incident. Haye subsequently beat Chisora by Round 5 TKO in July of last year.

Chisora is definitely the most dangerous opponent Scott has faced, though he's an opponent the American might be able to look very good against. A convincing win will get Scott's name in the conversation for big fights at heavyweight.

A win for Chisora confirms his reputation as the most jagged and dangerous stepping stone in the division. 

Strengths

Malik Scott is a very good technical boxer. He grew up in the North Philadelphia boxing culture, one of the richest boxing traditions in the world.

He uses his length and footwork to control his opponents and limit their opportunities to launch effective offensive attacks.

He is a smart, strategic fighter who wins through craft.

Dereck Chisora is a born fighter. He is an aggressive, come-forward fighter who is very difficult to discourage.

Chisora has decent punching power, but he is more of a mauler than a pure slugger. He tries to get in an opponent's face and beat the dude up. He takes away their space to move and their room to breathe.

It takes a certain amount of physical strength and raw guts to stay in the ring with a fighter like Chisora, especially when he is in ideal physical condition.

Weaknesses

Malik Scott has just 12 knockouts in 36 fights. When you lack serious punching power, you are at a distinct disadvantage in the heavyweight division.

Even though Scott gave Glazkov a boxing lesson last February, he was unable to beat him up enough to discourage his aggression. Fewer and fewer judges these days seem to be able to distinguish between “aggression” and “effective aggression.”

Fighting a hard-charging brawler like Chisora, especially in front of his home crowd, Scott is at risk of losing rounds he really deserves to win if he can't obviously hurt the Brit and slow him down.

Dereck Chisora has a rugged, exciting style that has helped him look good in defeat against some high-level fighters. But the fighters Chisora has actually beaten are hardly a spectacular lot.

The two best names on his list of victories are Sam Sexton and a 37-year-old Danny Williams who was at the start of a 3-7 slump.

Against decent boxers with reach, Chisora has struggled to cut off the ring and score enough to win.

Malik Scott Will Win If...

This should be a winnable fight for Malik Scott. He needs to get behind his jab and pump it more vigorously than he did against Glazkov. He needs to use lateral movement to keep Chisora turning, making it impossible for Del Boy to set himself and load up for a big attack.

Scott's biggest risk here might be another lousy decision from the judges. I thought he won seven of 10 rounds against Glazkov, at a minimum. But one judge gave him only five rounds, and another gave him just four.

Scott's style has hurt him with judges and at the box office. I think he needs to commit to sitting down on his punches more if he wants to get to the next level.

Obviously, he's not going to turn into George Foreman. But the technical advantages he has over Chisora should allow him opportunities to get aggressive while minimizing the risk to himself.

Scott can probably win this solely on boxing talent. But to make sure he wins all the rounds he deserves to win, I think he needs to let his power punches go more freely, especially as Chisora is lunging forward to attack.

He shouldn't get reckless against the dangerous Chisora. But he can't be afraid to roll the dice when the odds line up for him.

Dereck Chisora Will Win If...

The first thing Chisora needs to do is make sure he shows up in ideal fighting condition. But judging from his physique in the open-workout photos posted with this story, that's not going to be an issue.

Chisora needs to make this a rough-and-tumble brawl, but to do that, he's got to intelligently cut off the ring and move inside of Scott's jab. If he simply chases Scott around the ring, swinging wildly, he's unlikely to catch up to the American.

Chisora is no technician, but he's been in the ring with some top fighters, so he should have picked up enough craft to trap a stick-and-move boxer like Scott. When he gets inside on Scott, he needs to pound him to the torso.

Chisora is the toughest fighter Scott has faced. He should look to rough up Scott early. He needs to rattle Scott's confidence and let the American know that he's in the ring with a different breed of animal.

Prediction

This is an intriguing fight precisely because the two fighters bring such different styles to the ring. The fight Scott is looking to make is completely different than the battle Chisora wants to engage him in.

So the winner will be the man who imposes his own game plan and forces the other man to engage on his terms. A technically adept boxer like Scott should be able to do this to a mauler like Chisora.

But expect Chisora to be a relentless and determined foe, and he will likely rally the crowd behind him with every wild flurry he throws, whether or not it actually connects.

I expect Scott will thoroughly out-box Chisora for almost all three minutes of every round. But if Chisora can continue to come forward and make things exciting in 20-to-30-second bursts, he will probably be able to steal some rounds, especially in front of a hometown crowd.

I think Scott's aware of that risk. He's a well-schooled fighter and must have learned some lessons in the Glazkov fight about expecting too much from the judges.

At 32, Scott needs to win this fight to keep his long career advancing forward. I think he will fight with enough extra aggression to make sure the judges have to respect his work.

Malik Scott by decision, 97-93.