Deontay Wilder is expected to be the opponent for Oleksandr Usyk’s ‘Last Dance’ in either December or early 2027, but before that fight became available, the American was being mentioned for a fight with a British heavyweight this summer.
Wilder returned to fight in the United Kingdom for the first time in 13 years when he scored a split decision win over Derek Chisora back in April, stringing together consecutive wins for the first time since 2019, when he reigned as WBC heavyweight champion.
Now, following Usyk’s decision to vacate his three heavyweight world titles, it seems as though the Ukrainian is targeting a showdown with ‘The Bronze Bomber’ in his final professional bout before hanging up the gloves.
Before Usyk unveiled plans for his career finale, Wilder was being discussed for a potential clash with Johnny Fisher in Istanbul, Fisher told About Boxing.
“They [Matchroom Boxing] made me a few offers with different things, they were trying to get fights to happen and, for whatever reason, they weren’t materialising. At one point it [the offer] was going to fight Wilder, of course I was up for that.
“There was talks, a couple of weeks before my contract was up, Eddie FaceTimed me with Turki Alalshikh and he said, ‘Wilder, Istanbul, end of August?’, so I was like ‘yeah, no problem’.
“That [didn’t happen because of the] politics of boxing. Sometimes Turki can say one thing and think that it’s going to happen, but through no one’s fault, other things happen in boxing that mean a fight, even when they are announced on social media, [collapses].”
Fisher was a rising star in the domestic UK scene but suffered a defeat to Dave Allen last May, before returning with a stoppage win against Ivan Balaz in December.
He has since signed with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, and on Saturday, September 26, he will debut under his new promotional outfit and headline at the Copper Box Arena in London, for what will be Zuffa’s second event in the United Kingdom.
