LONDON — Deontay Wilder defeated Derek Chisora via split decision in a scrappy but entertaining heavyweight bout Saturday to put himself back in the conversation for bigger fights.
Wilder (45-4-1, 43 KOs) scored two knockdowns but was deducted a point in Chisora’s 50th and final pro fight.
Two judges scored it 115-111 and 115-113 for Wilder, while one had it 115-112 for Chisora.
Chisora (36-14, 23 KOs) went through the ropes twice as both men spent much of the fight leaning into each other. Chisora came out swinging early while Wilder tried to maintain distance with his superior reach.
The American constantly threatened with his powerful right hand, but Chisora kept coming and landed the better shots early.
Chisora suffocated his rival, closing the distance and working Wilder’s head and body with success in the first half of the fight, but he couldn’t hurt Wilder.
The Brit appeared to tire in the later rounds, and Wilder landed more as the fight went on. Chisora scored a knockdown in Round 11, but it was too little, too late as Wilder controlled the last round to secure victory.
Chisora, 42, twice fought for a world title in 2012 and 2022 and has become a cult figure in British boxing.
Chisora, fighting at The O2 for the 11th time in his career, traveled to the venue on the London Underground — taking the subway instead of a private car. Rather than going in through the VIP entrance, he walked through the main doors, past some fans and was accompanied by his family while pushing his young son, Zion, in a stroller.
In the co-main event, Viddal Riley defeated Mateusz Masternak to win the EBU European cruiserweight title and put himself in line for a world-title shot next.
Riley won by unanimous decision with scores of 118-110, 118-110 and 119-109. The fight was also an IBF eliminator for the vacant world title.
Riley (14-0, 7 KOs) boxed well and inflicted a fair amount of damage on Masternak (50-7, 33 KOs), working behind his jab and following with his right hand, landing several bruising blows as he wore down his Polish opponent throughout the fight.
