After almost a year since talk began of a second encounter between the two, Dereck Chisora and Tyson Fury will finally lock horns at London's ExCel Arena on Saturday night with pride, titles and a chance to fight for the WBO heavyweight title all on the line.
In their first meeting in 2011, Fury comfortably overcame the challenge of Chisora to claim the British and Commonwealth titles, but three years on since that contest, the duo will face each other again for the same belts as well as the European strap and the opportunity to earn the status of mandatory challenger for one of Wladimir Klitschko's world crowns.
Below, Sports Mole assesses the credentials of both men before attempting to predict who will emerge the winner of the showdown in England's capital.
1. Dereck Chisora
Despite having lost four of his 24 matches in the paid ranks, Chisora has remained as a contender in the upper echelons of the heavyweight division. He was conclusively stopped by David Haye in the summer of 2012, but becoming one of the few men to go the distance with Vitali Klitschko and being robbed of victory in Finland against Robert Helenius has solidified the Londoner as one of Britain's best over the past few years.
Since the defeat to Haye, Chisora has rebuilt his career with notable triumphs over Malik Scott, albeit in controversial circumstances, and the durable Kevin Johnson, while he also picked up the European title from Edmund Gerber. It's not the most star-studded of streaks towards a final eliminator but it has been enough to establish Chisora back at the top of the weight class as he targets a second chance to face a Klitschko brother.
Any potential shot at Wladimir is dependent on Chisora settling a score with Fury, and he's given himself every chance by getting into shape over the past 18 months. Chisora himself admits that his performance against Fury the first time around was hindered by his fitness but 'Del Boy' showed against Johnson earlier in the year that he could go the distance with a decent work-rate, although he wasn't being extended by a slow opponent.
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As well as being technically sound, it's his work-rate and fitness that are going to prove key if he is going to keep the pressure on Fury. The challenger is likely to be just happy sitting on the back foot as he will letting go with his shots so while Chisora will inevitably be looking for his trademark overhand right, it's important that he mixes up his attack with shots to the body to try to take something out of Fury if the encounter goes past the halfway point.
It has been suggested that Fury is as fit as he has ever been, but he's fought four rounds in 19 months and inactivity has the potential to play its part. Chisora has also gone nine months without a fight but his broken hand suffered in the summer wouldn't have prevented him maintaining his improved stamina and there's likely to be less ring rust showing from Chisora than there is Fury.
While Fury has the edge in size and punch power, Chisora has the benefit of being involved in a number of high-profile fights. He has headlined in Germany, Finland and at Upton Park in front of huge crowds and although many have Fury as the most likely of the two to ever win a world title, Chisora knows what this kind of occasion is all about and he will have his business head on come Saturday night.
2. Tyson Fury
Love him or hate him, almost the whole of the boxing fraternity has had sympathy for Fury over the past 18 months. Either side of stopping Joey Abell earlier this year, the unbeaten heavyweight has seen two lucrative meetings with David Haye scrapped after injuries to the former world champion, while he was denied for a third time in the summer when Chisora broke his hand just a week before they were scheduled to do battle in Manchester.
However, while he has displayed his frustration at press conferences and social media, Fury deserves credit for continuing to see the bigger picture and keeping his head down in preparation for a significant fight that would materialise sooner rather than later. After putting together 22 wins without defeat, Fury is past the stage where he can get motivated for lesser-known opponents and the time is right for him to advance to the next level of his career.
When this fight was initially announced, Fury was quick to dismiss the ability of a man who he has already beaten, but as the months have passed by, the belief has grown that this is a different kind of fight to the one that took place in July 2011 and Fury can't avoid any complacency if he wants to elevate himself into the reckoning for a world title.
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Fury has already stated that he expects Wladimir to vacate rather than face him should he emerge victorious at the weekend, while he will inevitably be considered as a possible contender for Deontay Wilder next summer should the knockout specialist dethrone Bermane Stiverne, but after losing all of the momentum created by beating Steve Cunningham in New York, Fury needs a positive performance to put the rest of the heavyweight division on watch for 2015.
The 26-year-old's last two victories have seen him mix showmanship with brute power but like with Chisora, the reward on offer for the winner is likely to see a more focused Fury than we have seen before, but his lack of ring action will be a worry and his trainer Peter Fury will be instructing his man to be switched on from the first bell.
Prediction
After taking to the ring in the aftermath of what is expected to be a thrilling contest between Billy Joe Saunders and Chris Eubank Jr, there may be a desire to try to upstage the middleweight pairing but both men need to step into the ring with the sole purpose of executing a gameplan.
Chisora's tactics will be to crowd the challenger while Fury will try to box at range with his jab before attempting to land with a short right hand. If Fury can execute that strategy to perfection and stay out of the way of Chisora's power shots, it could be a long night's work for the champion, but with both boxers having improved from three years ago, it could swing either way and it's difficult to see this one going 12 rounds.
Darren Plant
