On this day in 2014 – Tyson Fury beats Dereck Chisora to earn heavyweight crowns

Tyson Fury beat Dereck Chisora by 10th-round stoppage to become the new European and British heavyweight champion on this day in 2014.

It proved a one-sided contest at London’s ExCel Arena as unbeaten Fury dominated from start to finish, and Chisora pulled out at the end of 10th round to hand his 26-year-old opponent his 23rd career victory.

The battle failed to live up to its full-throttle billing, with Fury in charge throughout, and the crowd jeered all of the later rounds as neither fighter unleashed the hits they had become so renowned for.

Chisora went into the 2014 fight on the back of a five-fight winning streak and appeared fitter and leaner than he was three years earlier, and in contrast there were suggestions Fury might struggle from a lack of sharpness having only fought two bouts in the previous two years, but the 6ft 9in fighter enjoyed complete control.

Fury’s uncle and trainer Peter Fury revealed after the fight, though, that Fury was almost forced to pull out of the Chisora clash after a virus prevented the 26-year-old from training for three and a half weeks.

“Last week, he started to feel better and two days before this fight he said, ‘listen I feel absolutely okay’. There was talk at one time of pulling this fight.

“We rested him him up, took him for a few walks, gave him plenty of saunas and he came out of it.

“That’s the level of fitness he’s at. Even the sparring, we had him for a week and sent him home because he couldn’t spar four rounds. He was weak.”