In the end, the tiger tamed the elephant and proved he belongs in the land of the giants.
But not before Oleksandr Usyk was given a Halloween fright by Derek Chisora who, at 36, made the former cruiserweight king draw on every ounce of skill and will at Wembley Arena.
The Ukrainian southpaw was expected to school Del Boy, to announce himself in the heavyweight division and cement his position as the mandatory challenger to Anthony Joshua.
Instead, AJ was at ringside to watch 12 gruelling rounds which ended with Usyk the winner but under no illusions about the punishing life awaiting him among the big boys.
He can take a shot, all right. And he can still box brilliantly even with an extra few inches around the waist. But is he elusive or powerful enough to cope with Joshua or Tyson Fury? Only time will tell.
Usyk was forced to weather an early onslaught and a late rally from Chisora, who did enough for the upset in the eyes of his team and former stablemate.
But the judges saw it differently – scoring it 117-112, 115-113 (twice) for the Ukrainian, who then turned his attention to AJ.
“Hi Anthony,’ he shouted menacingly. ‘I’m coming for you, Usyk,” AJ responded in kind.
They could meet soon enough unless Tyson Fury has something to say about it. Either way, Usyk is a player in the division and Chisora still has life left in him, too.
