LONDON — Deontay Wilder defeated Derek Chisora by split decision in a 12-round heavyweight bout at the O2 Arena in London on April 4, 2026. Two judges scored the fight 115-111 and 115-113 in Wilder's favor, while a third judge scored it 115-112 for Chisora.

In the opening round, Wilder and Chisora became tangled on the ropes and continued to throw punches while ignoring the referee's calls to break, prompting a member of Chisora's team to climb into the ring before order was restored. Both fighters slipped or fell to the canvas multiple times over the course of the contest.

Chisora stunned Wilder with an overhand right in the fifth round, but Wilder pushed Chisora and sent him over in the same round. Wilder landed a punch on Chisora after the bell in the sixth round. In the eighth round, Wilder knocked Chisora down with a right hand that sent him through the ropes — the same punch responsible for most of Wilder's 43 knockouts in his first 44 career wins. Wilder was deducted one point in the eighth round for pushing. Both men ended up on the canvas in the 11th round, but neither incident was ruled a knockdown.

After the fight, Wilder, a 40-year-old former WBC heavyweight champion who held the title from 2015 to 2020, expressed concern for his 42-year-old opponent. "I had an adorable opponent. I knew Derek was going to bring everything he had," Wilder said. "Tonight, I looked out for him, I want him to live for his kids. It's time for us to take care of each other."

Wilder added: "In the ring I saw his temple start to swell, I said 'you've got to live for your kids'. Too many lives have been lost in this ring, nobody gives a damn about us. Us fighters have to look out for each other."

The bout was the 50th professional fight for both men. The victory improved Wilder's record to 45 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw, though he had lost four of his six fights prior to facing Chisora. Chisora's record moved to 36 wins and 14 losses; he turned professional in 2007, one year before Wilder, and lost his two career title shots to Vitali Klitschko in 2012 and Tyson Fury in 2022.

Chisora had said before the fight that it would be his last but declined to confirm his retirement afterward. "I'm going to go home with the boss lady and see. I'm going to go home and drop the kids, do the school run," Chisora said. It was his 11th fight at the O2 Arena, where the 20,000-capacity venue was not filled to capacity, though the crowd was vocal throughout.

Chisora had arrived at a pre-fight news conference in a military tank and traveled to fight night on the London Underground.