By Charles Brun: Derek Chisora says he wants Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder next after his career-saving 12-round split decision victory over Kubrat Pulev last Saturday night at the O2 Arena in London.
Not surprisingly, Wilder hasn’t reacted to the call out from Chisora (33-12, 23 KOs), and it’s fair to say that he won’t accept this fight. If you’re Chisora and promoter Eddie Hearn, don’t hold your breath waiting for Wilder to respond to the call-out because he likely never will.
There’s nothing to gain for Wilder to face Chisora, as he’s not a world-ranked fighter, and you can’t sell the fight to American audiences. The casual fans in the U.S don’t know Chisora, and the hardcore fans view him as a poor journeyman on his last legs, and they’re not wrong.
Chisora got the nod from the judges, who gave him the victory over Pulev by the following scores: 116-114, 116-112 for Derek, and 116-112 for Pulev.
Charles Brun had Pulev winning 116-112, as he did the better work from the outside and was in control of virtually every round.
“Yeah, I’ll take the Bronze Bomber. If he’s listening, Bronze Bomber, give me some of that power, baby,” said Derek Chisora to iFL TV, calling out Deontay Wilder.
“100%,” said Chisora when asked if he’ll fight again this year. “I don’t know [who it’ll be], but I’ll fight again this year.”
It’ll be interesting to see who Hearn can bag for Chisora to fight next in 2022, but it sure as heck WON’T be Deontay Wilder. In an ideal world, Hearn could get Dillian Whyte to accept a third against Chisora, but it might be too expensive.
“I’d like to see you retire, but I’d also like to see you fight again. I’m torn between the two,” said Carl Froch to Chisora.
“I’m not retiring yet,” said Chisora.
“Dillian Whyte,” said Tony Bellew when asked who Chisora should fight next. “Unless someone comes along with a world title fight, I want him to get fights where it’s in his favor.
“Right now, Dillian Whyte is coming off a defeat. Of course, he has [just put himself back into the mix]. He [Chisora] just beat a man that has only been beaten by two world champions, Wladimir Klitschko and Anthony Joshua. So it’s a huge win for him; it’s massive.
“I thought he deserved the fight. I had him winning by one or two rounds,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social about Chisora. “Pulev’s body was red raw, but he’s a tough man. He took a lot. Both of his eyelids were hanging off.
“It was a high-intensity fight and high-paced as well. You talk about how Derek should retire, but he goes out and beats a top ten, top fifteen heavyweight.
“He hasn’t got many left, and you’ve got to match him right. But he still has enough left in him to beat a top fifteen, top ten heavyweight in the world, so it was a good performance,” said Hearn.
