CHISORA DEFEATS PRICE TO WIN WBO INTER-CONTINENTAL HEAVYWEIGHT BELT AT O2 ARENA
Dereck Chisora delighted his home crowd at London's O2 Arena with a fourth-round victory over David Price to win the WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight belt.
Fighting on the undercard of the Josh Taylor-Regis Prograis fight, Finchley resident Chisora dominated from the first bell and almost finished the Liverpudlian at the end of the third.
Price was saved by the bell, but he was dropped in the fourth by a body shot and his corner made the decision to throw in the towel not long after.
Chisora, 35, told Sky Sports: "I am an old boy in this game. I came to destroy. I knew if I caught him, he was gone."
Although 'Del Boy' was warned for a low shot in the second, he was in control for much of the contest against 36-year-old Price.
The Merseyside fighter struggled to land blows on Chisora and in the third the bout almost came to an end.
Price was caught by several combinations and despite a brief response, it was the bell at the end of the third which saved him.
A chat with his corner was not enough time for the heavyweight veteran to regroup and he dropped to the canvas after a body shot midway through the fourth.
Despite attempting to continue, his team had seen enough and Chisora could celebrate the 32nd win of his career.
He paid tribute to his rival and close friend afterwards, adding: "David Price stepped up to save the show so shout out to David Price, his family and his team."
Joseph Parker was Chisora's original scheduled opponent before the New Zealander pulled out due to illness.
"If we can get Joseph Parker as soon as possible - I hope he doesn't get a spider bite - let's do it as soon as possible," Chisora added.
But Chisora's manager David Haye added: "I like the Oleksandr Usyk fight. That would be a fantastic fight."
Earlier in the night, Taylor's fellow Scot Ricky Burns had lost out to Lee Selby in a majority decision after a close lightweight content.
The Welshman started strongly, but Burns defied his 36-year-old legs to come back into the bout, which saw both men trade blows after the bell had gone at the end of the fifth round.
In the end, former IBF featherweight world champion Selby edged out his old sparing partner with the three judges scoring it 115-115, 116-112 and 116-113.
Also in London, Lawrence Okolie stopped Yves Ngabu in the seventh round to win the European cruiserweight title and add it to his Commonwealth and British belts.
Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, also defended his WBA Continental welterweight title with a fourth-round stoppage of Steve Jamoye.
Published: by Radio NewsHub