Deontay Wilders Wins Tough Fight vs Chisora; Looks Towards Anthony Joshua
By Eddie Sanchez
Deontay Wilder defeated Derek Chisora via a highly entertaining split decision. The fight was equally scrappy and entertaining, and more importantly, it seemingly put him back in the conversation for bigger fights.
Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KO) scored two knockdowns but was controversially deducted a point in Chisora’s 50th and final pro fight.
Two judges scored it 115-111 and 115-113 for Wilder, while one had it 115-112 for Chisora.
Chisora (36-14, 23 KO) went through the ropes twice as both men spent much of the fight leaning into each other. Chisora came out swinging early while Wilder tried to maintain distance with his superior reach.
Wilder constantly threatened the bruising UK fighter with his powerful right hand, but Chisora kept coming and landed solid early.
Chisora suffocated his rival, closing the distance and working Wilder’s head and body with success in the first half of the fight, but he couldn’t hurt Wilder.
The tide officially turned in the eighth round, when Wilder was hit with a huge shot from Chisora, but returned with a flurry of his own. Despite the referee helping slow the bleeding for Chisora by pulling Wilder off him, the damage was done and Wilder essentially cruised the rest of the fight.
British Board choose not to punish Chisora-Wilder referee Mark Bates.
Beyond the controversial 8th round action from referee Mark Bates, where he essentially halted an onslaught from Wilder and even asked Chisora if he was alright to continue, Bates took a point away from Wilder with no warning or reasoning mentioned, he constantly failed to control the tempers between the fighters, and failed to disqualify Chisora on two occasions for actions his corner took throughout the fight.
“I just hope and pray the boxing commissions, the people, do something about these things,” Wilder said in reference to Bates during his post-fight press conference. “That referee shouldn’t be allowed to ref again.”
A board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, when all performances will be reviewed as normal, but British Boxing Board of Control general secretary, Robert Smith, insists that they will take no action against Bates, who they believe handled a difficult fight competently.
Smith told The Ring that the Board was satisfied with Bates’ overall performance and confirmed that there will be no sanctions for their official.
What’s Next for The Bronze Bomber?
Deontay Wilder’s ambitions to reach the top of the heavyweight division have been reignited once again after his latest triumph, and he wasted little time as he exited, stopping to call out the nearby Anthony Joshua.
For most fans, a fight between two rival heavyweights is one of the most obvious no-brainers out there. At the same time, there’s arguments to be made that this is the wrong opportunity for each star, especially for Joshua.
A setback against Wilder could seemingly end the much-anticipated fight with Fury, which is still expected to be one of the biggest fights in UK boxing history.
Of course, recent history suggests that the higher risk goes towards Wilder. A loss would surely take him out of the running for a Usyk fight, and his recent fight history represents that he is more vulnerable than Joshua at the moment.
Risk aside, I hope this fight happens, with the winner facing off against Fury in what could be seen as a retirement tour for the trio.
Wilder vs Chisora Full Fight Highlights
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