Derek Chisora is officially set for his last dance in the UK.
Chisora fights for the final time on British soil against Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin at Manchester’s new Co-op Live arena on Feb. 8, it was announced Wednesday. The show will be promoted by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions.
The veteran heavyweight enters the ring for the 49th time against Wallin. He aims to get to 50 fights before retiring, with his final bout planned to be outside of Britain.
Chisora (35-13, 23 KOs) has had an illustrious pro career spanning more than 17 years and involving two shots at the heavyweight championship. He’s also faced many calls to retire, the latest of which came after his one-sided stoppage defeat at the hands of Tyson Fury for the WBC strap in December 2022.
But the 40-year-old managed to rediscover his winning ways with a lackluster decision over Gerald Washington in August 2023, then followed it up by shocking the boxing world with an upset of Joe Joyce in July in London.
Wallin (27-2, 15 KOs) rose to notoriety after giving Tyson Fury a tougher-than-expected challenge in their 2019 Las Vegas clash. Wallin strung together several respectable wins afterward, beating two-time title challenger Dominic Breazeale and former unified cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev. However, his run came to a devastating halt this past December when Anthony Joshua made easy work of Wallin, forcing the Swede to retire on his stool after five rounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Chisora was initially expected to face Jarrell Miller at the Feb. 8 event, but the fight fell apart at the 11th hour. Miller blames his previous promoter, Dmitry Salita, for that and has made several derogatory comments about Salita on social media since.
Salita exercised his right of last refusal, otherwise known as a matching right, which gives him a window to match the material terms of Warren’s offer to Miller. Therefore, Miller was unable to accept Warren’s offer in a timely manner, forcing the British promoter to seek the services of Wallin.
In the Feb. 8 co-feature, contenders Zach Parker (25-1, 18 KOs) and Willy Hutchinson (18-2, 13 KOs) clash in a light heavyweight contest.
Parker’s sole defeat came at the hands of John Ryder for the WBO interim title in 2022 when he retired on the stool with a broken hand. The performance earned Ryder a fight with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, which he lost.
Hutchinson survived a late scare to convincingly outpoint Craig Richards in June, but was then beaten by Joshua Buatsi in September at Wembley Stadium.
Also on the show, Jack Rafferty (24-0, 15 KOs) defends his British and Commonwealth titles against Kane Gardner (17-3, 7 KOs), Masood Abdulah (11-0, 7 KOs) meets Zak Miller (14-1, 3 KOs) for the Commonwealth featherweight crown, and Stoke favorite Nathan Heaney (18-1-1, 6 KOs) returns to action.
