It was billed by the promoters as “100” in reference to the fact that both Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora were engaging in their 50th career contest.
As it turned out, this wobbly waltz between two well-worn warriors was closer to the last stumble than Chisora’s previous ‘Last Dance’ win over Otto Wallin. Headlining a nine-fight card in London’s O2 Arena, promoted by the Sauerlands’ new outfit MF Pro, Wilder finally got the nod after 12 rounds of saloon slinging.
Deontay Wilder defeats Derek Chisora by split decision
Who expected this one to go the distance? It did, and was decided by scores of 115-111 and 115-113 in favour of Wilder, tempered by a 115-112 to Chisora, as announced by MC Ray Flores.
Never one to do things in a low-key fashion, Chisora turned up for Thursday’s press conference in a tank, flanked by UK politician Nigel Farage. His ring entrance on the night was no less flamboyant.
While nobody dared mention it during the open mic moments, there was a justified element of concern floating around in the build-up. Some online commentators suggested that both main event participants had suffered enough head trauma already in their combined 98 outings.
Passed fit and ready to fight, both men made it into the ring to celebrate their respective half-century milestones. The road has been long and arduous.
Chisora turned pro in 2007, posting a second-round knockout over Istvan Kecskes on the Wembley Arena undercard of Graham Earl’s legendary up-and-downer with Michael Katsidis.
While the hapless Hungarian Kecskes never boxed again, Derek’s journey was just beginning. By the time Deontay Wilder turned over, in November 2008, off the back of an Olympic bronze medal campaign in Beijing, Chisora was about to close a busy year that saw him box twice in September alone.
In the years since, there have been moments of madness, moments of joy, moments of disappointment and moments when Chisora has simply refused to quit, roared on by an appreciative crowd, soaking up an alarming amount of punishment for his troubles.
This one started at a fierce pace as Chisora burrowed inside, trying to work Wilder’s unsteady stilts. An impromptu rope-a-dope brawl broke out in the final seconds of the round, requiring physical intervention from both referee Mark Bates and Chisora’s cornerman, who raced across the ring, risking a disqualification.
Bates let him off, and the action resumed. “Madness!” chuckled Darren Barker on DAZN commentary duty. It was slightly reminiscent of the Anthony Joshua-Dillian Whyte round one melee. AJ was at ringside, laughing at the fuss.
Further into round two, Wilder tried to step off, attempting to turn back the clock, buzzing the usually granite Brit in the second with a sneaky right uppercut. It was frenzied, it was ugly, the crowd were lapping up the chaos.
Wilder looked exhausted by the third, but still managed to scythe off some scruffy hooks. It was more bar-room brawl than boxing as referee Bates took a moment to interrogate Chisora when he appeared hurt.
The sloppiness continued into the fourth. Gloves were flying behind heads, around backs and into the night sky. Who would last the pace better?
Wilder’s left eye was feeling the effects of Chisora’s chopping overhand rights. It was sad to see the one-time Alabama banger staggering around the ring, delving deep into the pockets for the old magic tricks.
Chisora targeted the body in the sixth; Wilder was windmilling again, like the early, novice-like destroyer. The old power had yet to reemerge. Russ Anber was busy dealing with a cut across Chisora’s left eyebrow as the sixth closed. Wilder’s right uppercut likely caused the slash.
After breath-catcher seventh, Chisora was down in round eight from an accumulative avalanche of blows. The Zimbabwe native was exhausted, bleeding from the eye. Wilder was docked a point by referee Bates, who was aiding Chisora’s recovery efforts. Chisora rallied back, the head bulleting in as they brawled.
‘War’ Chisora, who arrived on the London tube, was doing more chattering than throwing in the 10th as the pair swaggered and swayed at range.
Round 11 saw two knockdowns, one apiece, with both debatable. First, Chisora fell through the ropes (again) seeking a means of escape. Then Deontay stumbled for a count of his own.
The headline dust-up was inspiring the crowd, who decided to have a few spats of their own, causing multiple necks to crane around the arena. Back in the squared circle, Chisora was swinging for the hills in the final round in a fight that seemed to be Wilder’s to lose.
The pair embraced at the conclusion. Turns out it was Wilder’s night as he snatched the split decision. 50 fights and the winner promised to keep this show on the road. The power might be gone, but the chin surprisingly held up.
“You can’t throw dirt on somebody that’s chosen,” says Wilder
Post-fight, Deontay Wilder paid tribute to his opponent’s efforts: “Derek, he’s a warrior. He came like a lion to fight, but like I said before, I don’t play boxing, I come to end it.
“Many people doubted me. They counted me out. They threw dirt on my name, but you can’t throw dirt on somebody that’s chosen.
“Derek got a lot of good shots off, but it wasn’t nothing to a king. I’m a king, and I showed that tonight. The punches I absorbed, and I came back.
“It’s all about having fun. I had to heal. It took a long time for me to heal, but I’m back, and I’m going to get better and better each and every time.”
Chisora rued some missed opportunities, even blaming ring constructor Mike Goodall for his sliding out of the ropes: “I’m just upset that I came out of the ropes. Because if I didn’t come out of the ropes, I would have won that fight.
“He pushed me out of the ropes once, and the second one, I just came out for some reason. But it happens.”
Riley and Bentley record big wins on the Wilder-Chisora undercard
Londoner Viddal Riley stepped up in levels with a dominant dismissal of stern Pole Mateusz Masternak to win the European cruiserweight crown. The 38-year-old champion had fought, but mostly lost, in better company and was the perfect, upright foil for Riley’s journey towards world-class.
Aside from a prodding left jab and occasional hook, Masternak offered little to trouble the more mobile Riley, who used his languid movement to pop in shots from both hands, winning at a canter.
When two punchers meet, sometimes the concern over what the other man can do stifles offensive output. This happened in the early going between Battersea’s Denzel Bentley and Mexico-based Venezuelan Endry Saavedra, meeting for the WBO Interim middleweight title.
That was until Bentley found his range, started timing the visitor, and unleashed hooks and uppercuts at will. In round seven, Bentley caught Saavedra napping, hurt him and piled on the pressure until referee Darren Sarginson rescued the disorganised ‘Chino’ from further punishment.
In a heavyweight slugfest, Matty Harris stepped in with a chopping right hand to defeat Franklin Ignatius in round two.
Derek Chisora vs. Deontay Wilder full card results
- Deontay Wilder Wins Pts 12 Derek Chisora
- Mateusz Masternak Loses Pts 12 Viddal Riley
- Denzel Bentley Wins TKO 7 Endry Saavedra
- Matty Harris Wins TKO 2 Franklin Ignatius
- Ashton Sylve Wins Pts 8 Raul Galaviz Hernandez
- Amir Anderson Wins TKO 8 Jordan Dujon
- Jermaine Dhliwayo Wins TKO 7 Jake Morgan
- Dan Toward Wins TKO 3 Misael Da Veiga
- Tom Welland Wins Pts 4 Yahir Solorio Morales
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