NEW YORK — In 98 combined fights, there aren’t many contemporaries that Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora haven’t fought yet, with the rare exception being one another.
That oversight will be corrected on April 4, when the two meet in a heavyweight fight at the O2 Arena in London, England, in the main event of a card promoted by MF Pro.
Wilder, a former WBC heavyweight titleholder, 44-4-1 (43 KOs), and Chisora, 36-13 (23 KOs), came face to face on Monday afternoon for a promotional face-off in Times Square. But instead of a heated confrontation, the two found a common adversary in the chilly temperatures of New York City, which is in the throes of a deep freeze.
The two wore their respective countries’ flags, partially to promote their intercontinental battle, but also partially to shield themselves from the frigid winds.
Once they went indoors to warm up, Wilder shared that he always imagined they would meet in the ring, but he just didn’t know when.
“I know that as long as we’re all in the same industry, that it will be an opportunity for us to fight,” the 40-year-old Wilder said in an interview with BoxingScene. “The heavy division is a small division, so we can fight three or four, five, six times and get some good quality fights out of those recycled fights. I didn’t have it in the back of my mind that it was too far-fetched to happen again, because it was supposed to happen years ago.
“I’m so excited just to be in this position. To go through the things that I had to go through, and to still carry on, to keep moving forward, to still put one foot at a time when it feels so heavy, when you feel like the world is all on your shoulder, and people throw you away and give up on you as fast as they can. But I love it.”
Wilder will be fighting for the first time since his seventh-round stoppage win over Tyrrell Anthony Herndon last June in Kansas, which snapped a two-fight losing streak against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. The Alabama native believes that a matchup with Chisora, a two-time heavyweight title challenger from London, is the sort of stylistic pairing that can produce the sort of fight that will get people excited about his career once more.
Though 42, Chisora is riding one of the best streaks of his career, having won his last three fights against former contenders Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin.
“This is gonna be action-packed from the first round to the last round, if it goes to a last round,” said Wilder. “With a fight like this, I don't see it going to the end. I’ll be highly surprised that it goes to the end, to where someone has to make a decision on who’s the winner, who’s the loser.”
Chisora agrees that the styles line up for an exciting matchup.
“It’s gonna be a good fight… until I stop him,” said Chisora.
Wilder says that he has found renewed motivation for the sport, having accomplished what he did early in his career, which includes a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics and winning the WBC heavyweight title in 2015, and holding the belt for 10 successful defenses until his 2020 loss against Tyson Fury. Now, he says, this next phase of his career is a special treat for himself.
“At this moment in time, I’m doing everything for me. You know, during those times, 10 title defenses, has been a long-reigning champion, I did that all for other people,” said Wilder.
“That was always my goal, to take care of my family, building generational wealth for them, breaking the chain for my family, and I did that very successfully. I’m very proud of myself, but there is a moment where I need to treat myself. I haven’t done much things for myself because I’m a giver. I'm usually doing things for others, and no return of anything.”
After Chisora, one of the few remaining fighters that Wilder still will not have faced yet is Oleksandr Usyk, the heavyweight champion from Ukraine who has been undisputed at both cruiserweight and heavyweight.
The two were in negotiations, but the fight has yet to materialize. Wilder says he believes he will one day be standing opposite of Usyk in the ring. Usyk, who last fought in July, knocking out Daniel Dubois in five rounds, has indicated that he will eventually return to the ring, though it’s unclear whom he will be interested in fighting.
“I think it is a fight that will happen. He’s already strongly mentioned that I’m the last piece of the puzzle,” Wilder said. “And I think I agree as well. You know, it ain’t the point that he have to have me, to put on his legacy, to have outstanding accomplishments in the business, because he already has that without me. But I understand what he's saying of our era, being able to fight everybody in our era and compete against them, because I want to do the same thing. That’s a beautiful thing to be able to offer all the best that was in the era to come and then leave.”
“Only a fighter will understand that as being a warrior, having that warrior mentality of getting in there, because it’ll be a lot of talk, ‘Why you doing that? You got money. You got the success. Why? Yeah, just retire. You don’t need that.’ I mean, but you’re not a warrior. You don't know what it is to be a warrior. You know what it is to throw a punch for you to tell somebody else what to do with their life and their career and make the decision. So I totally understand where he’s coming from with that, and I hold him to his word.”
Though Wilder still has plans for his career moving forward, the 18-year pro vet has already given some thought to what his legacy will be in the sport.
“I hope people remember me as someone that showed a warrior mentality, a warrior's heart, a king’s mind, someone that fought them all, that didn't say no to nothing, even when things didn’t go in my favor,” said Wilder.
“I've always had to kick the door in for the majority of things in my life. With that being said, I want them to look at me as a man, a guy that provided service to his greatness, and he was the man.”
