Ex-World Champ Deontay Wilder means business ahead of Chisora clash

Former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder took part in an open training session at London’s storied York Hall on Wednesday as he prepares to face British rival Derek Chisora on Saturday. It’s the 50th professional fight for both boxers in what is being billed as Chisora’s farewell fight after a career which began in 2007 and saw the now 42-year-old step into the ring with Tyson Fury three times as well as fellow all-time greats Vitali Klitschko and Oleksandr Usyk. For many years Wilder was described as the hardest-hitting heavyweight in history and held the WBC world championship between 2015 and 2020. He lost that title in an epic trilogy with Tyson Fury where he was knocked out in back-to-back fights by the Gypsy King after drawing their first fight. But since then the 40-year-old Alabama native has looked a shell of the fighter he once was, losing badly on points to Joseph Parker and then being stopped in the fifth round by Zhilei Zhang in 2024. He has fought once since then, beating a journeyman Tyrrell Anthony Herndon last June but the resilient Chisora may prove a tough nut to crack in front of the Brit’s home fans at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.