Tyson Fury pummels, stops Derek Chisora in 10 to set up showdown with Oleksandr Usyk

Now comes a genuine challenge.

Tyson Fury did what he was expected to do against Derek Chisora on Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, stopping the tough, but overmatched 38-year-old in the 10th-round of a one-sided fight to retain his heavyweight belt.

The victory appears to set up a showdown for the undisputed championship with Oleksandr Usyk, who was at ringside watching the slaughter.

Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) chose to fight Chisora a third time when Usyk – the two-time conqueror of Anthony Joshua – made it clear he wouldn’t see action again until next year and a prospective meeting with Joshua never took hold.

Hardcore fans moaned when it was announced that Chisora would fight Fury even though he was 1-3 in his last four fights. Still, a reported 60,000 braved the cold in the outdoor venue to watch the two popular athletes do battle, if that’s what it was.

Chisora (33-13, 23 KOs) came out aggressively and never stopped trying to win the fight. However, he did nothing but eat hard punches the entire fight.

Fury landed almost at will, patiently picking apart and wearing down an almost defenseless opponent from a safe distance from beginning to end. And when Chisora got inside, the only place where he could hope to land punches against his 6-foot-9 foe, Fury tied him up.

That’s how it went round after round, Fury giving a boxing clinic and Chisora demonstrating nothing but his admirable determination.

Finally, in Round 10 of a scheduled 12, referee Victor Loughlin recognized that there was no point in allowing Chisora to absorb more punishment and he mercifully stopped the fight. The official time was 2:51.

Fury had nothing but praise for his friend afterward.

“I felt good in there tonight,” said Fury, who defeated Chisora in all three of their fights. “I felt like I was landing my jab, landing some good punches. Listen, I take nothing away from Derek ‘Del Boy, War’ Chisora. He’s an absolute warrior. It’s been a privilege to fight him three times. He’s an absolute British folk hero.”

Fury then started singing, “Ohhh, Derek Chisora! Ohhh, Derek Chisora!” At that moment the beaten challenger walked up to Fury and the microphone.

“Thanks to the ref,” Chisora said. “As a fighter, you don’t want to stop, you go out on your shield. He said, ‘If you don’t throw punches, I’m going to pull you out.’”

Chisora then said what everyone was thinking: It’s time for Fury vs. the talented Usyk for heavyweight supremacy.

“Everyone wants to see one heavyweight champion,” he said.

Usyk climbed onto the ring apron when his name was mentioned and found himself almost nose to nose with Fury, who instinctively went into marketing mode only minutes after finishing off Chisora.

“Usyk, you’re next, little b—-!,” he yelled. “You’re next. You are next. Me and you. You 15-stone (210-pound) (expletive). He’s a bodybuilder. Well, I ain’t no bodybuilder. I’m going to write you off. I already [beat) one Ukrainian, [Wladimir] Klitschko. And I’ll get you, too.

“You ugly little man, you ugly little man. … Let’s get it on.”

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Story originally appeared on MMA Junkie