THE BIG BOYS PUT IT ALL ON THE LINE IN LONDON

There are not many finer sights in British boxing than an all-British heavyweight main event in front of a sold-out arena, where the winner will put themselves back into world title contention whilst the loser will almost certainly be looking down the barrel of retirement.

The good news is that’s exactly what we will get at London’s O2 Arena this Saturday as Joe Joyce takes on Derek Chisora in what promises to be an intriguing clash.

With both suffering two losses in their last four fights, and time ticking on, it’s a must-win, so expect enough fireworks to make even Guy Fawkes feel slightly overwhelmed.

Before that, however, there’s an action-packed undercard with a highly anticipated rematch for European honours, an all-British 50/50 in the 130lbs division and one of the biggest prospects in heavyweight boxing going up against one of the toughest gatekeepers in the sport, which is where we begin our preview.

A standout amateur as a youth, Moses Itauma has taken the heavyweight boxing world by storm with seven stoppage wins in his first nine fights in the paid ranks, hugely impressive when you consider he is still only 19.

On Saturday, he faces arguably the toughest test of his career when he takes on the vastly experienced former world title challenger Mariusz Wach.

Having fought the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Martin Bakole and Dillian Whyte, Wach has very much seen it all and, despite him undoubtedly being on the decline, he will still provide a different type of challenge to those experienced by Itauma previously.

Nobody has ever stopped the Pole in under six rounds. However, given the rate at which Itauma is improving, don’t be surprised if he becomes the first man to do so.

The first of the 50/50 triple header sees Ryan Garner and Archie Sharp put their undefeated records on the line in what could well turn out to be a thrilling super-featherweight encounter for the WBC International title.

Ranked #3 in the WBO, Sharp’s path to a world title shot hasn’t gone as smoothly as anticipated, with promotional issues and periods of inactivity. He very nearly came unstuck last time out after being dropped twice in the first round by the 17-14-2 Reuquen Facundo Arce, although he recovered well to claim a comfortable points victory.

Garner, meanwhile, has been all the rage of late under the Queensberry banner. He stopped the tough Juan Jesus Antunez inside four rounds back in August, before putting on a boxing masterclass to beat the former British champion Liam Dillon in May, ensuring he goes into this clash full of momentum.

Both stylish fighters who prefer to box and move, rather than sit in the pocket, one of them may well be forced to do so here to get the victory, and with a potential world title shot looming for the winner, it could well turn out to be a fight-of-the-night contender.

In the co-main, the undefeated Dennis McCann takes on the all-action Ionut Baluta in a rematch of their first fight, which took place last August, and resulted in a technical decision draw after McCann was cut on the forehead due to an accidental clash of heads.

McCann, who is still highly regarded as a future world champion, has worked his way to 15-0-1 since turning pro five years ago. A classy southpaw who seems to be carrying more power with every fight, he dropped the previously undefeated Brad Strand last time out on his way to a unanimous points win.

Despite Baluta losing four of his 21 fights in the paid ranks to date, his record is extremely deceiving. If you look up the word ‘relentless’ in the dictionary, you may well find Baluta’s name written beside it. He’s all-action, non-stop pressure with a chin that even heavyweight boxers would envy.

The Romanian caused ‘The Menace’ a heap of problems in the first fight with McCann unable to find his rhythm, and the general consensus was that if the fight went one or two more rounds, Baluta would have prevailed.

McCann did have to deal with the huge cut on his forehead on that occasion and with that unlikely to happen again, expect to see a much more mature and established performance from him under the tutelage of Joe McNally and Declan O’Rourke.

However, do not write Baluta off.

Now for the main event. ‘The Juggernaut’ vs ‘War’. The fight may well turn out to be as scary as the nicknames suggest.

Joe Joyce, fresh off the back of a stoppage win over Kash Ali after suffering back-to-back defeats to Zhilei Zhang, will be looking to continue his quest to return to the higher echelons of the heavyweight division with a win over the former world title challenger Derek Chisora.

Del, like Joyce, has certainly not had it easy of late after suffering losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Joseph Parker x2 and Tyson Fury in his last six fights, with his two wins coming against Kubrat Pulev and, most recently, Gerald Washington last year.

It’s hard to make a case for either of these two being anywhere near their prime at the moment but what does make this fight so exciting is what is on the line for both men.

Both can whack, both like to fight off the front foot and both have big engines. That alone is enough to suggest someone will more than likely get knocked spark out in a potential fight-of-the-year candidate.

Throw in the fact that the winner could be on the brink of a world title shot, and the loser may well end up retiring off the back of an emphatic defeat, this fight just stinks of pure chaotic entertainment.

Joyce will bring the fire and Del will bring the petrol so if you have plans for Saturday night which don’t include tuning in, do yourself a favour and cancel them because this has the potential to be a night to remember.

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