Why Deontay Wilder's fight against Derek Chisora should mark the end of his career, regardless of result

Wilder has taken tons of damage in the ring in the last few years, leading to a troubling trend

Brian Campbell

Apr 4, 2026

10:24 am ET

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6 min read

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When former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder returns to the ring on Saturday against Derek Chisora in London, the fight has been promoted as not just Chisora's 19-year pro career but a chance for the 40-year-old Wilder to return to title contention with a win.

The 12-round bout, which headlines an event at the O2 Arena (DAZN PPV, 2 p.m. ET), will also be the 50th pro bout for each of the aging heavyweights. But the 42-year-old Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) believes at least one half of the pre-fight narrative has been misconstrued.

"It's a sad day on this day because it's a retirement for me but subconsciously it's [also] a retirement fight for him," Chisora said during a March sitdown on "The Ariel Helwani Show" alongside Wilder. "He don't realize it yet. It's one of those things where he ain't going to win the fight so why [continue talking about future fights]? It's a bow down for both of us but he's in denial."

If we're being honest, Chisora might not be the only one who holds a similar opinion regarding the impact of what a loss could potentially have on Wilder's future, despite all of the talk from "The Bronze Bomber" about wanting to challenge unified champion Oleksandr Usyk later this year.

Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KOs) is the most decorated and dominant American heavyweight champion of this century and still holds the highest knockout percentage (97.72%) in the division's history. But despite entering this decade with a record of 42-0-1 and the distinction of having knocked out every fighter he defeated, Wilder is just 2-4 since 2020 with a trio of knockout losses (including back-to-back sustained beatdowns suffered against former champion Tyson Fury).

It's not just the age or the recent record that is most concerning about Wilder, however. He returned in late 2023 following a 14-month layoff in a decision loss to Joseph Parker looking noticeably more frail (particularly in the lack of musculature in his legs) than his championship years. Seven months later, Wilder looked like a shell of himself once more when he was knocked around the ring by Zhilei Zhang in a fifth-round TKO.

In anticipation of making one more run at the highest level, Wilder returned in June 2025, headlining an obscure pay-per-view card in Wichita, Kansas, where he knocked out journeyman Tyrrell Herndon but noticeably lacked the speed and explosiveness that once helped the 2008 Olympic bronze medalist overcome a considerable lack of technique after beginning his boxing journey at age 20.

To make matters worse for Wilder, his in-ring decline coincided with the public fallout of his relationship with longtime fiancé and reality television star Telli Swift, the mother of one of his eight children. In 2024, Swift was granted a temporary restraining order against Wilder after accusing him of domestic violence and the two spent much of 2025 in court over a custody battle.

"I have been through a lot for these last past years with reconstructing my mind and getting myself back together," Wilder told BT Sport this week. "Physically, my body has been good and, spiritually, everything has been good. Mentally, that's another story.

"Most of the time, I have things under control. I have always had to do things alone and by myself. So, with that being said, I have had a lot of practice in this thing. I am 40 years old now and I have been through a hell of a lot. Here I am now, after two therapists and a sports psychologist. Here I am, revisiting myself and reuniting myself. And with this situation, I feel I'm back. I know I'm back."

Although Wilder has long been known for his emotional interviews and quick temper, his public appearances over the past two years (especially in the lead-up to this weekend's return) have been noticeably unhinged.

In 2024, Wilder broke down in tears and walked off filming of Season 2 of "The Traitors" reality show citing PTSD and the triggering of childhood trauma due to the psychological pressure of the competitive series. In February, he needed to be held back by security during a screaming match on set with talkSPORT's Simon Jordan after Wilder was challenged on his long-held beliefs that Fury routinely cheated throughout their trilogy.

This week, Wilder took part in a sit-down interview with DAZN that ended, unprompted, with him screaming about the plight of African-Americans over the past 400 years, from slavery to the fight for equal rights, which included a rehash of his famous 2018 "Till this day!" rant as tears ran down his face. That moment was followed by an appearance in studio on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" where Wilder shared an obnoxiously inappropriate story about how his first daughter was conceived.

"I have h