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Tyson Fury vs. Dereck Chisora - can a second bout be justified?

Sports Mole assesses whether a rematch between Tyson Fury and Dereck Chisora would be a success.

Frank Warren revealed on Wednesday that heavyweight Tyson Fury would make his return to the ring on February 15 on the undercard of Dereck Chisora's European title defence against Andriy Rudenko.

If both fighters come through their respective bouts, Warren has targeted a rematch between the two Brits to take place in early June, in a showdown that he describes as the "biggest fight out there" for both men.

However, with Fury already holding a unanimous points win over Chisora in 2011, is there much clamour for the two world title prospects to go to war for a second time at this stage of their careers?

Before their encounter two-and-a-half years ago, both Fury and Chisora were inexperienced on the world stage. Fury was 14-0 with his biggest test being John McDermott, while Chisora was coming off wins against Sam Sexton and Danny Williams.

The duo, alongside the emerging David Price, were undoubtedly the best that the domestic division in Great Britain had to offer, but the fight suggested that both combatants were some way short of being regarded as an elite-level fighter.

Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury claps during a press conference on July 11, 2013© Getty Images

Chisora was visibly out of peak physical condition, but he was still able to have success in the opening rounds against Fury. The 6"9' man took over for the remainder of the fight, but we were deprived of a genuine 50/50 fight by Chisora blowing out in the middle rounds.

Both men have improved significantly since their first meeting to work along their own path in an attempt to secure a world title bout in 2014. Chisora has negotiated his way past a couple of relatively unknown fighters to win the European strap, while Fury has won IBF and WBC eliminators against Steve Cunningham and Kevin Johnson.

With Vitali Klitschko no longer in possession of the WBC belt, both believe that they are close to an opportunity to compete for that version of the world title, but the same could be said for a number of fighters with the heavyweight division looking ready to light up in 2014.

Becoming mandatory for the WBO title, where Chisora is ranked at number two, looks more likely if this rematch materialises, but does the reward on offer for the winner justify the risk involved in taking the fight? Boxing is a sport where winner usually takes all, but do Fury and Chisora really need to put their current positions on the line in the hope of becoming world champion?

While on paper the showdown looks an appealing fight, it's not one that brings a whole lot of reward for either man - apart from money, of course. Sure, there is an opportunity to become a mandatory challenger, but after dispatching of Alex Leapai in April, Wladimir Klitschko will still have a mandatory bout against Kubrat Pulev and a possible voluntary defence in his path before he is required to defend his WBO strap at the start of 2015 at the earliest.

Dereck Chisora celebrates his victory over Ondrej Pala during their WBO and Vacant International Heavyweight Championship bout at The Copper Box on November 30, 2013© Getty Images

That would leave the winner in a position of having to decide whether to wait nine months for the high-profile match with Wladimir Klitschko, or risk their mandatory status in another fight. Fury would have endured 10 months on the sidelines by the time that he fights in February, and Chisora has eased into a routine of trying to compete four times a year. Neither man will want to twiddle their thumbs waiting for a possible meeting with Klitschko.

Warren has claimed that this is the biggest heavyweight match that Great Britain has to offer, and maybe he is right. He has spoken about the potential encounter taking place inside a football stadium, but he isn't talking about Wembley or Old Trafford, he can't be. The only suitable stadium is West Ham United's Upton Park, where Chisora fought David Haye, but the majority of the supporters on that occasion attended because of the former world champion, not Chisora.

There's no doubting that it would be a big event, but it's not going to be the spectacle that Warren thinks it will be. The build-up would no doubt be lively, but what about the fight itself? Why would a second meeting be any different to the first? Despite cutting a much leaner figure, Chisora is inevitably going to work on the front foot, and Fury is inevitably going to hold, before picking his moment to land a potential fight-stopping shot after Chisora has missed with a right or left hook.

Chisora has the chin to go 12 rounds with Fury, like he did with Vitali Klitschko at the start of 2012, but he hasn't got the tank to sustain a huge assault on Fury round-by-round and providing that both men come through their respective February tussles, it's hard to see any other result than another unanimous win for Fury.

However, in the grand scheme of things, he won't be any better off than he would be in not taking the fight. An American promoter would likely stump up the money for Fury to face one of their heavyweight prospects before the end of the year and a defeat would leave Fury back where he started. As for Chisora, lose to Fury and his only option could be to face Price or compete for the British title. A winner might well emerge in June, but there could be two losers by the conclusion of 2014.

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Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury claps during a press conference on July 11, 2013
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