The pair of veteran heavyweights square off in London on Saturday
By Brent Brookhouse Apr 3, 2026 at 1:22 pm ET • 3 min read 
Getty Images While many marquee boxing matchups are defined by being contests of elite fighters or crossroads fights between rising prospects and aging veterans, Saturday's bout between Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder is the rare major headliner between two notable fighters approaching the end of their careers (2 p.m. ET, DAZN).
In fact, Chisora has said Saturday's fight, the 50th in his professional career, will be his final trip to the ring. While Wilder has not stated that he's in the same position, a loss would derail his plans to get back into position as a serious heavyweight contender.
Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KOs) is a former long-reigning heavyweight champion. Armed with arguably the most devastating one-punch power in boxing history, Wilder blasted his way to the WBC championship, which he successfully defended 10 times from 2015 to 2020.
Never a fighter to prioritize winning rounds, Wilder spent much of his career relying on his uniquely devastating power to land one-shot knockouts. His 97.72% knockout percentage is the best in the history of a heavyweight division dominated by powerful punchers.
Unfortunately for Wilder, giving away rounds in favor of finding space to land the perfect shot is a strategy that collapses when your speed and timing drop even by a fraction. That has been the case for Wilder, who escaped a 2018 bout with Tyson Fury with a highly controversial split draw, only to be stopped in their rematches in 2020 and 2021.
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Since the back-to-back losses to Fury, Wilder has gone 2-2, stopping Robert Helenius in one round and unheralded Tyrrell Anthony Herndon in seven while suffering losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, with the Zhang fight ending in a particularly brutal knockout. In those losses, and even the win over Herndon, Wilder seemed to lack the ability or willingness to pull the trigger with his punches. That reduced punch output and poor timing remain a big issue for Wilder as he prepares for Chisora, with Chisora sitting as a -190 favorite.
Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) has been a consistent presence in the heavyweight division, though he never claimed a world championship.
Chisora twice failed to win the WBC world championship, losing to Vitali Klitschko in 2012 and Fury in 2022. That Fury loss came at the end of a 1-4 stretch for Chisora, though he has rebounded with three consecutive victories, including wins over Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin in his two most recent outings.
Chisora has never been an easy out, even when his status was more journeyman than contender. Now, heading into his final fight, he has the chance to not only beat a former longtime champion, but to derail two-time undisputed heavyweight champion, and current unified heavyweight champion Oleksander Usyk's desire to face Wilder before his own retirement.
While Chisora may enter retirement without ever having held a world championship, derailing the plans for a major world championship fight between Wilder and Usyk would add one more notable moment to Chisora's interesting career.
Wilder vs. Chisora fight card, odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Derek Chisora -190 vs. Deontay Wilder +150, heavyweights
- Viddal Riley -475 vs. Mateusz Masternak +330, cruiserweights
- Denzel Bentley -165 vs. Endry Saavedra +130, middleweights
- Ashton Sylve -2000 vs. Tony Galaviz +900, junior welterweights
Prediction
The Wilder of old could have been trusted to find that magical moment, as he had so often in his career, against Chisora. The Brit has never been a perfect fighter, nor has he been impossible to stop. However, he has never been a fighter to throw himself face-first into a knockout blow.
Wilder only landed 39 punches across 12 rounds against Joseph Parker and 16 punches before being stopped in the fifth by Zhang. Even against Herndon, a hand-picked opponent nowhere near the quality of those Wilder faced at the peak of his career, Wilder only landed 32 power punches before the seventh-round stoppage.
As mentioned, Chisora is not a perfect fighter, but he trends closer to someone like Parker than Herndon. He's a talented and tricky boxer who, at his best, spends every moment making the fight a struggle. Wilder doesn't have the punch output or the timing to provide confidence picking against someone as tricky and talented as Chisora. Pick: Derek Chisora via UD.
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