It wasn’t the original opponent Dereck Chisora wanted to beat in his forty-first career fight, but he got the job done regardless in an all-British heavyweight encounter against David Price.

Chisora (32-9, 23 KOs) scrambled the senses of Price (25-7, 20 KOs) with a right hand to the top of the head and scored a fourth round technical knockout win Saturday when Price’s corner threw in the towel at the two-minute mark. It was the co-main event attraction to the super lightweight unification bout between Josh Taylor and Regis Prograis at the O2 Arena in London.

The finish came via a carry over from the previous round when Chisora stunned Price in the third with a straight right and left hook against the ropes toward the end of the frame. Price clearly felt the punch, but connected with a counter right uppercut just as the bell sounded. In the fourth, Chisora came out and finished what he started by knocking down Price.

Price was slow to get up, and used the ropes to climb back on his feet. Before referee Howard Foster could let Price continue, Price’s corner stopped the fight.

“I came to seek and destroy. If I caught him, he would be gone,” said Chisora, who claimed his third win of the year. “It was just business. He stepped up and saved the show. He buzzed me and caught me with an uppercut but I recovered easily and I came back and finish the job.”

Chisora’s skills and power superseded Price’s six-inch height advantage and eight-inch reach advantage over his foe, who was a replacement opponent for Joseph Parker because Parker suffered a spider bite that forced him to the sidelines.

Chisora came forward and stocked the oversized Price, a 2008 Olympics bronze medalist, in the first three rounds with jabs, a body attack and overhand right hands to set-up his triumph.

The victory marked Chisora’s third win of the year, and he now hopes to fight a healthy Parker, or perhaps turn his attention to heavyweight newcomer Oleksandr Usyk. 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist and member of the Boxing Writers Assn. of America since 2011. He has written for the likes of the Guardian, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Men’s Health and NFL.com and currently does TV commentary for combat sports programming that airs on Fox Sports. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan or via email at manouk.akopyan@gmail.com.