Deontay Wilder has publicly challenged Anthony Joshua for a highly anticipated fight between the former heavyweight champions, following his narrow split-decision win over Derek Chisora in London on Saturday.<\/p>\n
After the bout, Wilder approached Joshua, who was present ringside, and the two shared a fist bump. Wilder expressed his eagerness for a clash, stating, \u201cLet\u2019s do it. It was just a few words; I gave him a fist bump and said, now let\u2019s get it on. I\u2019m prepared for anyone in the heavyweight division. You can call me Mr. Clean because I aim to dominate the entire division. It\u2019s incomplete without Deontay Wilder.\u201d<\/p>\n
Previously, Wilder held the WBC title while Joshua was the holder of the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts, but a unification fight between them never took place. Wilder suffered a defeat to Tyson Fury, and Joshua lost his titles to Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk went on to claim the unified championship after defeating Fury in May 2024.<\/p>\n
Joshua’s last fight took place in December, where he secured a knockout victory against Jake Paul. However, shortly after, he was hospitalized following a car accident in Nigeria, which tragically claimed the lives of two of his friends. Joshua\u2019s promoter, Eddie Hearn, who witnessed the interaction between the two fighters, assured that a fight with Wilder would not pose any issues for Joshua.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, let\u2019s do it. AJ looked at him with an icy stare, but he would definitely fight him,\u201d Hearn commented to Fight Hub TV.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Chisora, reflecting on his defeat to Wilder, acknowledged that it might be time for him to retire from boxing. In the 50th and final fight of his colorful career, Chisora (36-14, 23 KOs) delivered one of his most commendable performances, having fought back from a knockdown in the eighth round to go the distance with Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs).<\/p>\n
Though disappointed by the judges’ decision, which scored the fight 115-111, 112-115, and 115-113 in favor of Wilder, the 42-year-old Chisora embraced the experience in London. He made light-hearted jokes with his wife Emily about potentially fighting again, but ultimately accepted that it might be time to retire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great fight. I need to go home and discuss it with the boss, and it is what it is,\u201d Chisora reflected alongside his son Zion. \u201cHonestly, I\u2019m tired now. I know when it\u2019s time to stop, and that time has come. I\u2019ve had a fantastic career, and it\u2019s been incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chisora turned professional in 2007, and his career has included memorable moments, such as spitting water at Wladimir Klitschko during his first of two title fights, a brawl with rival-turned-promoter David Haye, and even flipping a table during a press conference. Despite hinting at retirement, he suggested he may remain involved in boxing in some capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying it\u2019s not over. I didn\u2019t say I would fight again, but I might pursue something else in boxing,\u201d Chisora noted. \u201cWhat that might be, I\u2019m not sure. Honestly, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Deontay Wilder has publicly challenged Anthony Joshua for a highly anticipated fight between the former heavyweight champions, following his narrow split-decision win over Derek Chisora in London on Saturday. After the bout, Wilder approached Joshua, who was present ringside, and the two shared a fist bump. Wilder expressed his eagerness for a clash, stating, \u201cLet\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3051,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[265,62,264,266,63,88,256],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uk-anthony-joshua","category-au-boxing","category-uk-deontay-wilder","category-uk-derek-chisora","category-sport","category-uk","category-uk-us-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n