Deontay Wilder has revealed why his mooted matchup with Oleksandr Usyk, for the unified world heavyweight crown, has been replaced by a non-title fight against Derek Chisora.
The former WBC champion was called out by Usyk towards the end of last year, with both parties entering negotiations for their showdown to take place in America.
Earlier this month, though, heavyweight veteran Chisora emerged as a rumoured opponent for ‘The Bronze Bomber’, who also happens to be gearing up for his 50th professional outing.
With 100 fights between them, it has now been confirmed that the pair will collide on April 4, headlining a Misfits Pro card in London.
Chisora comes off a string of points victories over Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin, which followed his punishing stoppage defeat to Tyson Fury in 2022.
At the age of 42, it is certainly fair to say that the Londoner has seen better days; but so too has Wilder, whose last contest saw him labour to a seventh-round finish over Tyrrell Herndon in June.
Prior to that, the 40-year-old had suffered back-to-back defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, with the two fights ending via a wide unanimous decision and fifth-round stoppage, respectively.
But now, Wilder has secured himself a more winnable fight than his scuppered assignment against Usyk, which, speaking with Daily Mail Boxing, he claims talks with the Ukrainian were simpy dragging on too long.
“When you’re in negotiations, sometimes things just take longer than [you expect].
“There was a lot going on – I don’t want to put words in nobody’s mouth, but the process was taking too long. We needed to get out and get a fight.
“I wouldn’t want to call it a warm-up fight – Derek’s no pushover, he’s coming to fight. I’m mentally, physically and emotionally prepared for that.”
With Usyk coming off a fifth-round stoppage victory over Daniel Dubois, and having expressed his desire to enter at least two more fights, it remains to be seen who he will now defend his WBC, IBF and WBA titles against.
