Tony Bellew has admitted to feeling uncomfortable and furious, seemingly in equal measure, while watching 12 chaotic rounds between Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora earlier this year.
The two heavyweight veterans squared off in April, entering their respective 50th professional outings, with Chisora insisting that this would be his last dance.
Prior to their showdown, the Brit had claimed back-to-back points victories over Otto Wallin and Joe Joyce, perhaps indicating that he was enjoying something of a purple patch.
Given the beatdown he endured against Tyson Fury in 2022, however, it could be said with certainty that, even back then, Chisora was far removed from his prime.
But the same, of course, could be said of Wilder, who had suffered punishing defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Much like with Chisora, though, many suspect that the American’s third encounter with Fury – which resulted in a gruelling 11th-round stoppage defeat in 2021 – was what ultimately put him on a steep decline.
Yet the 40-year-old nonetheless scored two knockdowns and defeated Chisora by split decision, keeping himself in the mix for another lucrative opportunity.
As for Chisora, former world champion Bellew has told BBC 5 Live Sport that witnessing his close friend in Manchester was a particularly low point of 2026.
“Without a shadow of doubt, the low point’s Wilder and Derek. I wasn’t comfortable. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like what I [saw].
“[Chisora’s] gonna kick off at me; he’s gonna go mad at me when he sees this, but I was furious on the night. That wasn’t Derek Chisora in that ring.”
While Wilder, too, is well past his best, it seems the former WBC champion is nonetheless closing in on a clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
