Steve Bunce
Boxing expert on BBC Radio 5 Live

We knew he would do something fairly enigmatic. Delboy doing less looks like Delboy doing more. Just stand there, enjoy it, take it in. It's a football stadium and a Derek Chisora house of love.

Image source, Getty Images

Where do you even start when trying to sum up the career of Derek Chisora?

I'll just leave this video here for the moment.

Chisora raises his arm in the air as he looks around at the crowd at London's O2 Arena.

Will that arm be raised by the referee in the next hour or so?

And here comes Derek Chisora.

It's his usual 'Hotel California' by the Eagles that accompanies him.

Chisora, making this walk for the 50th and final time, is wearing a long black robe and black cowboy hat as he paces up and down the stage.

If there's ever a time that you can milk the ringwalk then bringing up a half century seems like a pretty good one.

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at the O2 Arena

Anthony Joshua spent a good 10 or so minutes with fans, taking selfies and chatting away. He received a huge reception when he made his way to his seat a little earlier. After all that he has gone through, it's so good to see AJ being full of smiles and back at a boxing event.

Image source, PA Media

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at the O2 Arena

There is no bad blood between these two.

Chisora and Wilder have been calling each other "brothers" all week. When Chisora turned up to the weigh-in wearing a mask of Tyson Fury - referencing Wilder’s defeats to the Brit, the American just laughed it off.

Wilder has even invited Chisora to visit him in Alabama after the fight. Chisora says he’ll take him up on it.

How do you judge who is the leading force in any given era?

There's a group of fighters seemingly ready to open the door to retirement in the next couple of years; Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

Many will argue that Usyk has been the best heavyweight among them due to the fact that he has twice reigned undisputed - something the other three can't boast.

But Wilder, who held the WBC belt across a five-year stint, made 13 defences of his title and has shown greater consistency than his rivals, although we can debate whether the level of his opponents has been strong enough.

Where does Wilder rank among his contemporaries?

Right, it's almost time for the main event.

Deontay Wilder is on his way to the ring... eventually.

After a long musical trail, Wilder emerges on to the stage wearing black with gold trim and is welcomed into the arena by chants of "oh, Derek Chisora," from the home crowd.

Fabio Wardley - WBO heavyweight world champion:

"I'd probably edge towards Chisora as the favourite, but it doesn't mean Wilder can't pull out that equaliser.

"I think if it's Wilder, it's a clean KO win. If it's Chisora, it's an overwhelming barrage - working him down, punch after punch without much coming back, and then the ref steps in."

Moses Itauma - British heavyweight:

"I'm going for Chisora. He wins by mid-to-late stoppage."

Shane McGuigan - boxing trainer:

"Chisora has been fighting since I was an amateur boxer and I'm now an established trainer of multiple world champions, yet he's still going. There's only so much the body can take and he's an incredibly tough, dense man. But it's now time to retire.

"With Wilder, he is someone who held his form well but the decline has been rapid. He was once phenomenal but he's now a stepping stone for younger fighters and a shell of the fighter he once was. I'd be surprised if he can turn his career around. So I think Chisora will take him out."

Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora are both set to step into the ring for the 50th fight tonight - they will boast a remarkable 100 fights between them by the time it's all over - and they are both promising fireworks.

Wilder believes it's going to be "one of the best fights in history".

A huge claim from the American, but time will tell.

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at the O2 Arena

Only at a Derek Chisora fight week…

At Thursday’s news conference at York Hall, Chisora arrived on an army tank alongside politician Nigel Farage.

Farage didn’t actually make it into the venue and wasn't mentioned once the event started.

Friday’s weigh-in had a very different feel but just as much noise.

Fans packed into the venue for what felt more like a carnival. Garage duo DJ Luck & MC Neat blasted early-2000s classics. There was a circular stage in the middle of the room, a punch machine for supporters to test their power and even a barber offering free trims.

Image source, Getty Images

We got a final glimpse of Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder at yesterday's weigh-in as they both prepare to step into the ring for the 50th time.

Chisora tipped the scales at a career-heavy 19st 1lb (121kg), with Wilder weighing 16st 1lb (102kg).

There has been some pretty interesting verbal sparring between the heavyweight rivals this week and that continued right to the very end.

Chisora, who claims he will retire after this contest, said it was a "pleasure" to face the American and that he was "buzzing" for the fight.

"It's been a long time coming, I'm looking forward to your retirement. I might shed tears, it's an honour," Wilder responded.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at the O2 Arena

Deontay Wilder has been in a rather curious mood this week.

The former world champion arrived 45 minutes late to Thursday’s news conference and seemed unusually subdued.

When he eventually delivered his trademark "Bomb Squad" shout, it didn’t quite carry the same energy it once did.

Inside the ring, Wilder has never quite looked the same since that brutal trilogy with Tyson Fury.

Outside it, the aura that once surrounded him feels a little diminished too.

There was a time when Deontay Wilder, who held the WBC title between 2015 and 2020, seemed untouchable and was the man to avoid in the heavyweight division.

Wilder's knockout power, having picked up 43 of his 44 wins by stoppage, made him feared far and wide.

But after tasting defeat for the first time against Tyson Fury in 2020, Wilder has lost a further three times and his bubble has undoubtedly burst.

As the statistics above show, Wilder struggles to match-up with big names across all divisions.

At 40 years old and as he prepares to fight for the 50th time, how long does Wilder have left?

Image source, Getty Images

Derek Chisora has never been on to do things by half measure and it looks like he's been thoroughly enjoying himself this week in what could be his final fight week.

Chisora travelled to Thursday's news conference at London's York Hall in a tank alongside Reform Party leader Nigel Farage, but the politician did not attend the media event.

"I am starting so fast that this fight will not see 12 rounds," Chisora said.

"I just need war and pain - that's what I'm bringing. I just pray nobody comes with excuses out of the two of us."

Image source, MF Pro

Michael Conlan - retired boxer:

"Chisora wins this fight by late TKO but is put down earlier in the fight. Wilder is the most dangerous punching heavyweight out there still, and he will be dangerous early on and could drop Chisora. But I think he then falls apart, Chisora dog houses him and gets to him late."

Kalle Sauerland - boxing promoter:

"Wilder is going to be coming on strong early, but I expect Derek to weather the storm, stalk his man down and finish it in big style in the 12th round."

Tommy Fury - pro boxer and reality TV star:

"It will be a very entertaining fight for sure, and I'm looking forward to it. It is tough to call, so I'm going to say whoever lands the big one first will take it."