Why Deontay Wilder's fight against Derek Chisora should mark the end of his career, regardless of result

Wilder has taken tons of damage in the ring in the last few years, leading to a troubling trend

When former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder returns to the ring on Saturday against Derek Chisora in London, the fight has been promoted as not just Chisora's 19-year pro career but a chance for the 40-year-old Wilder to return to title contention with a win. 

The 12-round bout, which headlines an event at the O2 Arena (DAZN PPV, 2 p.m. ET), will also be the 50th pro bout for each of the aging heavyweights. But the 42-year-old Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) believes at least one half of the pre-fight narrative has been misconstrued. 

"It's a sad day on this day because it's a retirement for me but subconsciously it's [also] a retirement fight for him," Chisora said during a March sitdown on "The Ariel Helwani Show" alongside Wilder. "He don't realize it yet. It's one of those things where he ain't going to win the fight so why [continue talking about future fights]? It's a bow down for both of us but he's in denial."

If we're being honest, Chisora might not be the only one who holds a similar opinion regarding the impact of what a loss could potentially have on Wilder's future, despite all of the talk from "The Bronze Bomber" about wanting to challenge unified champion Oleksandr Usyk later this year. 

Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KOs) is the most decorated and dominant American heavyweight champion of this century and still holds the highest knockout percentage (97.72%) in the division's history. But despite entering this decade with a record of 42-0-1 and the distinction of having knocked out every fighter he defeated, Wilder is just 2-4 since 2020 with a trio of knockout losses (including back-to-back sustained beatdowns suffered against former champion Tyson Fury). 

It's not just the age or the recent record that is most concerning about Wilder, however. He returned in late 2023 following a 14-month layoff in a decision loss to Joseph Parker looking noticeably more frail (particularly in the lack of musculature in his legs) than his championship years. Seven months later, Wilder looked like a shell of himself once more when he was knocked around the ring by Zhilei Zhang in a fifth-round TKO.   

In anticipation of making one more run at the highest level, Wilder returned in June 2025, headlining an obscure pay-per-view card in Wichita, Kansas, where he knocked out journeyman Tyrrell Herndon but noticeably lacked the speed and explosiveness that once helped the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist overcome a considerable lack of technique after beginning his boxing journey at age 20. 

To make matters worse for Wilder, his in-ring decline coincided with the public fallout of his relationship with longtime fiancé and reality television star Telli Swift, the mother of one of his eight children. In 2024, Swift was granted a temporary restraining order against Wilder after accusing him of domestic violence and the two spent much of 2025 in court over a custody battle. 

"I have been through a lot for these last past years with reconstructing my mind and getting myself back together," Wilder told BT Sport this week. "Physically, my body has been good and, spiritually, everything has been good. Mentally, that's another story.  

"Most of the time, I have things under control. I have always had to do things alone and by myself. So, with that being said, I have had a lot of practice in this thing. I am 40 years old now and I have been through a hell of a lot. Here I am now, after two therapists and a sports psychologist. Here I am, revisiting myself and reuniting myself. And with this situation, I feel I'm back. I know I'm back." 

Although Wilder has long been known for his emotional interviews and quick temper, his public appearances over the past two years (especially in the lead-up to this weekend's return) have been noticeably unhinged. 

In 2024, Wilder broke down in tears and walked off filming of Season 2 of "The Traitors" reality show citing PTSD and the triggering of childhood trauma due to the psychological pressure of the competitive series. In February, he needed to be held back by security during a screaming match on set with talkSPORT's Simon Jordan after Wilder was challenged on his long-held beliefs that Fury routinely cheated throughout their trilogy.

This week, Wilder took part in a sit-down interview with DAZN that ended, unprompted, with him screaming about the plight of African-Americans over the past 400 years, from slavery to the fight for equal rights, which included a rehash of his famous 2018 "Till this day!" rant as tears ran down his face. That moment was followed by an appearance in studio on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" where Wilder shared an obnoxiously inappropriate story about how his first daughter was conceived.   

"I have heard all the people telling me so many different great things that have been said about me that I look great and sound great," Wilder told BT Sport. "'He seems like he is back to the old Wilder.' But, I don't want to be the old Wilder, I want to be the new Wilder. The new, reinvented Wilder and with this fight, that is the test for me."

Even at his peak, when Wilder made an impressive 10 consecutive defenses of his WBC title from 2015 to 2020, his fights followed a similar pattern of him losing the majority of rounds until he found a moment, often when his opponents would begin to tire, to end the fight with one punch. But it's a much more difficult gameplan to rely upon at such an advanced age as Wilder, who has absorbed tremendous punishment inside the ring over the past six years, is clearly not the same fighter physically. 

And, as recent public appearances might suggest, when you add in the fear regarding his mental decline over the same period, it produces a feeling of fear regarding the safety of Wilder carrying on and goes a long way in explaining why he's the betting underdog against Chisora, who has alternated between journeyman and darkhorse contender over the years. 

Chisora enters the Wilder fight riding a surprising three-fight win streak, which includes back-to-back decision wins over Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin. But it came after a stretch in which "Del Boy" lost three of four fights.

"I need someone like Derek Chisora because I know Derek is going to come, I know he is going to fight," Wilder said. "This is his last one so, if he is going to retire and is sure about it, he will want to go out with a bang. It's his 50th fight and my 50th fight together. It's our 100th fight. What better place to have it than in his backyard in the O2 Arena. I truly believe this is one of the best fights that will be said in history."

The fact that the 39-year-old Usyk (24-0, 15 KOs), who returns in May against kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in front of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, has said publicly he wishes to fight Wilder before his career is over (as a way to add yet another former champion to his resume) helps the idea that such a fight is even possible for Wilder. But the proud native of Alabama, who has a public statue modeled after himself on the Tuscaloosa River Walk in his home city, would need to not only defeat Chisora first but look, for the first time since a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius in 2022, like he might even belong in the same ring as Usyk.

"I can't wait for this fight," Wilder said. "I know [Chisora] brings pressure. They say pressure breaks pipes but pressure also makes diamonds, as well. And I'm looking to be that diamond in the rough like I was that rose coming up through the concrete."