Oleksandr Usyk has picked a winner in Derek Chisora vs Deontay Wilder – the 50th professional fight for both men.
Chisora will welcome ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to London in a matter of weeks, looking to continue his run of wins that started in 2023 and saw him beat Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin thereafter.
If the Brit is enjoying an Indian Summer, Wilder’s recent in-ring activity is more of a harsh winter – he has won two from his last four, but the victories over Robert Helenius and Tyrrell Herndon were overshadowed by defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in which the American looked tentative and well off form.
Had the pair met in their primes, Usyk once predicted would Chisora come out on top.
Speaking on Inside the Ring, the three-time undisputed champion again backed his former opponent to beat the man he was recently linked with facing.
“I support Chisora. I think Chisora wins.”
The Ukrainian has shown great respect for Chisora since they met in the ring back in 2020 – just his second fight in the heavyweight ranks. ‘Del Boy’s style made it uncomfortable in there for Usyk at moments, with many feeling he laid the blueprint for how to potentially upset the master boxer.
In the years that have followed, Usyk has said Chisora’s punches felt like being hit with ‘a bat.’ Chisora, as recently as this week, says he still believes he should have won the fight on the scorecards.
Most feel that the judges won’t be necessary come April 4, when the UK and US pit their heavyweight veterans against one another with retirement on the horizon.
