By: Hans Themistode
Despite no longer holding his WBC heavyweight title, Deontay Wilder’s name still strikes fear into the hearts of many. With the Alabama native stopping all but one of his opponents, he’s widely considered to be one of the most pernicious punchers the boxing world has ever seen.
Still, regardless of his penchant for violent knockouts, Dereck Chisora is more than willing to face him.
“I’m open to anything,” said Chisora during an interview with Talk Sport. “I love fighting. What most people don’t understand is some people want to have the perception of being boxers on Instagram.”
Chisora, 38, is currently in the midst of one of the worst stretches in his career. On December 18th in Manchester Arena, Chisora was sent to the canvas a total of three times before losing a fairly wide decision at the hands of former heavyweight belt holder Joseph Parker. The loss for Chisora represented his third straight.
Although Chisora might be struggling to find his form, promoter Eddie Hearn believes the fringe contender has more than what it takes to not only compete with Wilder but ultimately, knock him off his high horse.
“He can beat Deontay Wilder,” said Hearn recently to IFL TV. “If he gets hit in the first three or four rounds, well, maybe at any time in the fight, it’s potentially over. But he can outlast Deontay Wilder and wear him down.”
At one point, Wilder was a proud owner of the WBC heavyweight title. But, following back-to-back losses against Tyson Fury, both of which ended before the sound of the final bell, Wilder is now pondering his next move. Presently, the 36-year-old has yet to make up his mind but he has flirted with the idea of hanging up his gloves for good.
However, until Wilder officially packs away his boxing trunks and walks off into the sunset, he remains a top name in the division.
As Chisora carefully looks over his own resume, the British native begins to smirk incredulously. Having faced the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Vitali Klitschko, David Haye, Dillian Whyte, and a long list of other notable names, Chisora is proud to have shared the ring with some of the best heavyweights of his era.
If, by chance, Chisora is given the opportunity to lace up his gloves against Wilder, he appears unfazed by facing one of the heaviest hitters in boxing history.
“I want to be that guy that when I sit down and everybody looks at my resume, I want to say, ‘You know what, I fought everybody in my era.’ I don’t want to let people decide for me, I decide for myself and be happy with the decision I make. So if I have to fight Deontay Wilder, if I have to fight whoever, if I have to fight an American, I don’t care, I will fight.”