Wilder Edges Chisora by Split Decision in Wild London Slugfest

Deontay Wilder put himself back in the heavyweight conversation Saturday night with a split-decision victory over Derek Chisora at a sold-out, raucous O2 Arena in London, then immediately made the bigger statement by walking across the arena floor to confront Anthony Joshua face-to-face.

The judges scored it 115-111 and 115-113 for Wilder, with a dissenting card of 115-112 for Chisora. CBS Sports, scoring the bout independently, had it even. Wilder's record now stands at 45-4-1 with 43 knockouts; Chisora falls to 36-14 with 23.

The card was promoted as "Chisora vs. Wilder: 100," a reference to the combined 100 professional bouts the two entered the ring with that night, each man fighting for the 50th time as a professional. Wilder, 40, was making his second consecutive appearance since a difficult run that included back-to-back losses to Tyson Fury and subsequent defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. His previous outing was a seventh-round TKO over Tyrrell Herndon in January 2026.

The 12 rounds were chaotic and difficult to score cleanly. Three knockdowns were recorded across the contest, with Wilder putting Chisora down twice, though both drops were described by ringside reporters as debatable. Wilder was docked a point in the eighth round after shoving Chisora through the ropes following one of those knockdowns. In the 11th, both men hit the canvas, but the referee ruled each instance a no-knockdown. Various slips added to the confusion throughout.

The O2 crowd, firmly behind the 42-year-old Chisora, never quieted. Chisora, nicknamed "War," entered the night as the sentimental local favorite in what had been billed as his "Last Dance" after a 19-year professional career. His post-fight remarks offered little clarity on whether it truly was his last: "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." Wilder, meanwhile, said he held back deliberately after spotting signs of damage on Chisora. "I had a durable opponent," he said.

The real commotion came minutes after the final bell. Rather than leaving quietly, Wilder crossed the arena floor and stood face-to-face with Joshua, who was ringside for his first public appearance since the deaths of close friends. Wilder made his intentions plain: "Let's do it. He's scared as f***." He also named British prospect Moses Itauma as a target, signaling no interest in stepping back from the division's upper tier.

On the undercard, Viddal Riley improved to 14-0 with a 12-round unanimous decision over Mateusz Masternak (47-7) to claim the European cruiserweight title. The event was broadcast on DAZN PPV and jointly promoted by MF Pro and Queensberry Promotions.