Most heavyweight announcements focus on belts or mandatory positions, but the face off in Times Square today revealed a much rarer narrative. When Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora step into the ring at The O2 Arena on April 4, they won’t just be fighting for a win. It’s a lot more than that. The two 40 year olds will be celebrating a century of professional combat.
In a sport where the elite often fight once a year, both men are entering their 50th professional fight on the same night.
This is a testament to a brand of “old school” activity that is dying out in the heavyweight division. To put that number into perspective, Muhammad Ali took 21 years to reach 50 fights. Wilder and Chisora have reached it in the modern era of hyper curated records and massive layoffs.
“War” Chisora, this is the end of the road. At 42, he has survived a gauntlet that would have retired three lesser men. Coming off a vintage win over Otto Wallin in 2025, Chisora is actually the form fighter here. He has spent his career as the ultimate test, and he views his 50th fight as the perfect closing chapter to a legacy built on toughness.
For the 40 year old Wilder, 50 isn’t a finish line. The former WBC heavyweight champion is trying to rebuild. After a rough patch between 2021 and 2024, his June 2025 knockout of Tyrrell Herndon showed that the “equalizer” still works.
Wilder isn’t looking for a graceful exit. That’s not what this fight is about. ‘The Bronze Bomber is looking to use Chisora’s hometown crowd as a stage to prove he belongs back in the conversation with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Promoters Amer Abdallah and Kalle Sauerland are betting on the “shoot out” nature of this matchup. While many see this as a celebration of two legends, this fight suggests a darker reality: the loser of this 50th fight likely leaves their gloves in the center of the ring.
Wilder is gambling his entire 2026 campaign on a man who specializes in making fights ugly. If Chisora can drag the “Bronze Bomber” into the late rounds, the 50th fight for both could end up being the final one for both.
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Last Updated on 02/02/2026
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