Derek Chisora was left with mixed emotions after he suffered defeat in his final bout, but only after an exhilarating fight of the year contender with Deontay Wilder at a raucous O2 Arena.
In the 50th bout of Chisora’s (36-14, 23KOs) eventful professional career, ‘Del Boy’ showed remarkable powers of recovery to come back from a punishing eighth round and take former WBC champion Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs) to the distance.
After the American showed the power early on in London which once made him one of the most formidable punchers in heavyweight history, Chisora’s farewell threatened to turn into a nightmare during a one-sided start.
However, Chisora rallied back in sensational fashion in a thrilling fourth and after he got up off the canvas in round eight, the 42-year-old made it through to earn a hero’s reception before, during and after his last three-minute round in the professional ranks.
It was not enough to seal Chisora one last victory after the judges scored the bout 115-111, 112-115 and 115-113 and the Zimbabwe-born Finchley boxer failed to hide his frustration at the ring after he slipped through the ropes on more than one occasion.
“Some of the rounds were very close,” Chisora said, before he turned focus to Ringcraft Boxing Facilities managing director Mike Goodall.
“Listen, where’s Mike Goodall? I came out of the ropes, I don’t know why and I’m just upset that I came out of the ropes. If I didn’t come out of the ropes, I would have won that fight.
“He (Wilder) pushed me out of the ropes once. The second one, I just came out, I don’t know why but it happens.”
This has been billed as Chisora’s Last Dance and while he refused to confirm it was 50 and out, if it is, it would fittingly bring the curtain down on a 19-year run in the professional ranks where tables have been flipped along with a notable post-fight brawl in Germany in a rollercoaster career.
Chisora added: “Erm, the boss lady is right here. Last fight?
“Yeah, so listen, the fight, did I lose it by one point or by two points? Yeah, because I came out of the ring but it is what it is. I’m going to go home with the boss lady and see wagwan.
“Thank you very much United Kingdom, I really appreciate you. I came here when I was 16, I was born in Zimbabwe, came here to visit my mother, I got into trouble, I started boxing and I didn’t know I would be addicted to boxing.
“I kept on going, some of my peers have retired and left but thank you very much, I appreciate it (the support).”
Meanwhile, victorious Wilder claimed to move down the gears to help his friend before he extended an invite to the whole Chisora family to visit his home of Alabama.
“I knew Derek was going to come and bring everything that he had to fight,” Wilder started.
“I was telling him in the ring when his eyes swell and his temple start to bleed, I said, ‘bro, you’ve got to live for your kids, I don’t want to hurt you too much longer,’ so I started having fun in there because I saw my brother going to get hurt.
“That’s what boxing is not about. Too many lives have been lost in this ring and when it is over for us, no one gives a damn. I looked after Derek tonight and I didn’t want to go too hard… I want him to live for his kids. It’s time for us to take care of each other.”
