LONDON – It wasn’t to be for Derek Chisora in his 50th and final fight.
Chisora fought at the O2 Arena in his home city of London and was not given an easy opponent to mark the occasion. He took on former WBC titleholder Deontay Wilder on Saturday in a bout that marked the 50th contest for two veterans of the modern heavyweight era.
Chisora, with his roaring home crowd behind him, was expected to win. Few gave the once feared puncher Wilder a hope after his poor showings against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. It looked as though the now 40-year-old had lost his magic, but he showed glimpses of the fighter he used to be against Chisora. The famous right hand that had earned Wilder 43 knockouts across his professional career was on show throughout, sending Chisora to the canvas on two counted occasions and busting the veteran’s face up. However, the 42-year-old Chisora fought through, and gave as good as he got, dropping Wilder himself before finding himself on the wrong end of a close split decision. Two scores read 115-111 and 115-113 in favour of Wilder, with the other reading 115-112 to Chisora.
“Tonight I was having a lot of fun. I had to heal, it took a long time to heal, but I’m back,” said Wilder, now 45-4-1 (43 KOs), post-fight. “I knew Derek was going to come, I knew he was going to bring everything that he had in his retirement fight. I was telling him in the ring as I started seeing his eyes and temples swell. I said, ‘Bro, you’ve got to live for your kids, I don’t want to hurt you, I got too much love.’ So I started having fun in there because I saw my brother getting hurt. That’s what boxing is all about. Too many lives have been lost in this ring. I looked after Derek tonight.”
“Oh Derek Chisora,” the crowd sang as they awaited a battle between two gladiators of the modern heavyweight era, and they were certainly entertained.
Wilder, of course, came into the contest with the better achievements and the reputation as one of the most feared punchers of all-time, but the crowd weren't there for him. They were in attendance for the swan song of Derek “Del Boy” Chisora, a fighter who has brought them so much joy over the years.
Chisora brought the heat from the opening bell, swinging in wild hooks as Wilder lay on the ropes. Chisora outweighed Wilder by 40lbs heading into the fight and he used every gram to bully the former champion. The pair became tangled together late in the opener when Chisora put all his weight on Wilder. Both men nearly went over the ropes and scrappily hammered away at each other. Wilder seemingly got tired of Chisora’s rough-and-ready tactics in the second and started to push back. Wilder cracked the home favorite with a right hand which shook Chisora to his boots. Chisora stayed on the ropes as Wilder edged forwards to land another of his famous right hands.
This time Wilder brought it upwards and caught Chisora on the chin with an uppercut. Chisora ate the shot and wildly swung a hook which missed Wilder by so much that Chisora fell over in the process. Technique was out the window from both men, who whacked away at each other with wild hooks before grabbing ahold - much like two brutes down at the local pub. Wilder hurt Chisora badly late in the third with a right hand that cracked Chisora on the forehead. Chisora hung on to Wilder for dear life and seemed to complain to the referee that he couldn’t see.
Wilder didn’t care, and belted a right hand that you could have heard from the top of the O2 Arena. The referee Bates then strangely stepped in to see if the home favorite was okay. Thankfully, just as Bates ushered the fight to continue, the bell sounded. It was Chisora’s turn to hurt Wilder in the fourth, and he did so with a looping right hand that smashed into Wilder’s temple. Wilder lay in the corner trying to cover up and hold, but he was certainly ricked by the shot. That only spurred on Chisora and the home crowd and in the fifth he had Wilder hurt again.
Chisora just couldn’t miss with the right hand, and Wilder was having to do most of his work from on the ropes. Wilder found success in the sixth and was able to time Chisora coming in. Wilder whipped in a right uppercut that would have decapitated most men, but Chisora took it and marched on.
Both men continued to hammer away at each other in the seventh, and amateur boxing coaches would have been watching in disbelief at how little skill was on show. Chisora was swinging for the hills and Wilder was slapping his shots in the corner. The eighth was an entertaining one, and it nearly went terribly wrong for Chisora. The home favorite was hurt badly from a crunching right hand that sent him tumbling into the corner. Wilder crept in to finish the job and blasted Chisora through the ropes with another hard right. Chisora climbed through the ropes and was given a very slow count by referee Bates. Wilder then came in for the kill and Chisora again fell through the ropes. This time Bates ruled that Wilder had pushed Chisora through the ropes, helped Chisora to his feet, and deducted a point from the travelling American.
Chisora’s head was swelling from the amount of right hands Wilder had smashed against his skull. Wilder was goading his foe in the 10th, talking to Chisora as he edged in to land another of his trademark right hands.
Chisora was slow off his stool for the 11th but was roared on by his crowd – and he needed it. Wilder had started to find his groove and was now landing his right hand at will. He cracked Chisora with one midway through the session which sent the Londoner tumbling into the ropes and he again slipped through them. The referee Bates started counting, much to Chisora’s displeasure, and Wilder prepared to close the show. But as Wilder came in Chisora swung over a right hand that floored the former champion. Wilder complained, but a knockdown it was, and it was now Chisora’s turn to push forwards.
Wilder was on the back foot for the majority of the 12th and final round. Chisora had found something from somewhere only he knew to push back and turn the tide. The bout was close, it could have been anyone’s, and Chisora fought like his life depended on it in the final session of his career.
Chisora waved to his crowd, his face swollen from the damage that Wilder had inflicted on him. The pair awaited the result and Wilder looked the more confident of the two. Boos rang around the arena when Wilder was awarded a split-decision victory over the home favorite, but it was a fair decision. Chisora had been beaten in his 50th and final fight, and finishes his career with a record of 36-14 (23 KOs).
One hopes that Chisora’s promise to stay retired is one he keeps.
