Two big trilogy fights are scheduled for Saturday in different parts of the world. Tyson Fury defends his WBC heavyweight world title against Derek Chisora in London (ESPN+, 1 p.m. ET), while in Glendale, Arizona, Juan Francisco Estrada takes on Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez in a rubber match for Estrada’s WBC franchise title (DAZN, 9 p.m. ET).
Nowadays, global boxing superstars accumulate wealth by understanding their worth and the overall market. Fury fits this bill perfectly. Ninety-four thousand people came out to see Fury stop Dillian Whyte in six rounds at London’s Wembley Stadium back in April. Now, 50 thousand-plus are expected to attend his unnecessary — but still eventful — third fight with Chisora, whom Fury has beaten twice before. This matchup could be as one-sided as the first two, as Chisora has won only two of the 22 rounds they have fought thus far. But the interest in this fight lies here: If Fury loses, an undisputed championship fight between him and Oleksandr Usyk, two of the best fighters in the world, might never happen.
Estrada vs. Gonzalez 3 doesn’t need any premeditated drama, conflict or chaos to hype the fans. Both fighters throw punches in bunches with controlled aggression.
Two completely different skill sets govern this trilogy. Estrada and Gonzalez have similar dispositions but entirely different approaches. I’m not here to bore you with clichés to describe this fight, but I will say we have all heard the tale of two people who fall in love immediately and call themselves soulmates. Can there be soulmates in boxing? A match made possible by the boxing gods? I want to think it’s possible.
Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier, Arturo Gatti-“Irish” Micky Ward, Rafael Marquez-Israel Vazquez — all three of the fights between these pairs were epic. Therefore, history tells us there is no reason this third matchup between Estrada and Gonzalez would be less exciting and entertaining than the first two.
Source: www.espn.com