Deontay Wilder is best known for his trilogy with Tyson Fury, but he was meant to face a different British icon back in 2013.
Deontay Wilder‘s career has gone downhill since his first fight with Tyson Fury, having lost three of his last four fights.
Wilder teamed up with former opponent Malik Scott after his first loss to Fury, but has only won once since against Robert Helenius.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ might’ve become a household name sooner, though, as he was set to face a British icon in 2013, before plans were dashed for one serious reason.
Deontay Wilder vs Derek Chisora nearly happened five years before Tyson Fury trilogy began
In 2013, Wilder faced Siarhei Liakhovich, his first opponent ranked in the top 50. Wilder, whose opponents were unranked or terrible until his 33rd fight, stopped Liakhovich halfway through the opening round.
The win allowed Wilder to go on a 32-fight KO streak, but it might’ve been very different if Wilder’s original opponent had been in the ring instead.
According to ESPN, Wilder was deep in negotiations to fight Derek Chisora, but the fight was axed when Wilder was arrested for assault charges, making travel difficult and squashing the fight.
At the time, Chisora was 16-4 having shared the ring with David Haye, Fury, Vitali Klitschko and Robert Helenius.
Chisora was coming off a win over Malik Scott, Wilder’s friend and future-trainer, so the fight would have been fitting.
Derek Chisora still wants to fight ‘The Bronze Bomber’
In 2022, Chisora got his first win in four fights after losing twice to Joseph Parker and once to Oleksandr Usyk.
He edged a points win over Kubrat Pulev in their second encounter, six years after the first.
After his victory, Chisora took to the mic in the ring and called out Wilder, with ESPN quoting him as saying:
“I’m happy today but at the same time I’m sad. I don’t have many left in me. My next couple fights need to be big ones. I don’t want any easy fights. If I can get ‘The Bronze Bomber’ in my next fight, I will be happy.”
Wilder and Chisora have still not fought, though Chisora has gone on to defeat Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin, whilst Wilder has lost to Parker and Zhilei Zhang.