Former unified heavyweight world champion Hasim Rahman has looked ahead to April’s veteran showdown between Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder, predicting that the contest will end by knockout.
Chisora was advised to retire by fighters and fans when he came up short in a second challenge for the heavyweight throne against Tyson Fury, back in December 2022. However, the beloved big man has continued to fight on and has surprisingly strung together three straight victories since.
Although, Chisora has promised that his next outing will be his last, as he reaches fight number 50 in his professional career, bowing out on home soil against former WBC champion Wilder, who will also achieve the same landmark half-century bout in the contest.
At ages of 43 and 40 respectively, some have criticised whether Chisora and Wilder should still be fighting, but Rahman told FightHype that he believes the clash is fair game, because of their similar ages.
“The way that I look at it is this, if you are talking about one of them fighting somebody significant younger than them, then there might be an issue, it might be something to talk about.
“But, you are talking about both of them, the playing field is even, so it’s OK.
“It washes out, it evens itself out, both of them are in the same boat, so what is the difference? Ain’t no advantage, either way.”
When discussing the scrap itself, ‘The Rock’, who famously knocked out Lennox Lewis to become the heavyweight champion in 2001, forecasted that the outcome of the fight will hinge on how much Wilder has declined, but that the judges will not be needed either way.
“I think that, if Deontay has anything left, he should win the fight by knockout. But, if Deontay is through, with his wars with Tyson Fury, then I see Derek outworking him and possibly stopping him late.”
Wilder-Chisora takes place on Saturday, April 4, at the O2 Arena in London, and will be available to watch live via DAZN PPV.