Derek Chisora’s trainer distances himself from Deontay Wilder fight

‘I think it’s just too hard a night for him’

Derek Chisora’s coach Dave Coldwell has insisted he does not want to see his fighter take on fellow heavyweight Deontay Wilder.

Briton Chisora last fought in December, suffering a second straight decision defeat by Joseph Parker, while Wilder has also lost his last two bouts – knocked out by Tyson Fury in both.

Coldwell, when asked by talkSPORT if he would train Chisora for a potential clash with Wilder, said: “No, no, no. It’s not something I wanna see.

“I think it’s just too hard a night for him.

“Derek’s Derek, and he’ll do what he wants to do. It doesn’t matter what anybody says, it’s the same as how he’s been all the way through his career.

“Yes, he will listen to people’s advice when it comes to opponents and things like that, but Derek wants to fight certain people. If he wants the fights, then they’ll happen.

“If I had my way, he wouldn’t be fighting Deontay Wilder, that’s for sure.”

Coldwell in fact said he supports a match-up between Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

Joshua lost his heavyweight titles to Oleksandr Usyk on points in September, and the Briton is expected to rematch the undefeated Ukrainian in spring.

Coldwell, however, has said “AJ” vs Wilder is a fight worth making.

“It doesn’t matter how many losses these two guys have on their records – ‘AJ’ vs Wilder is always gonna be a fight people are always gonna wanna see.

“We look at the UFC, people don’t really talk about records in the UFC.

“They talk about: ‘Is it gonna be a good fight?’ And then when the fight happens: ‘Was it a good fight?’ It’s not so much about: ‘He’s won this and he’s lost that.’

“That’s one thing I think boxing falls behind on, where we are too intent on valuing records so much. When a fighter gets beat that’s him ‘done’ and he’s ‘finished’.

“These are fighters. Fighters are gonna wanna fight, and when they’ve got something to give, then people are always gonna want to see them.

“Deontay Wilder can punch, he’s exciting, and he showed he’s got the toughness about him to be involved in some great fights.”

Wilder lost his WBC heavyweight title to Fury in the pair’s second bout, in February 2020, after they fought to a controversial draw in their first meeting, in December 2018.

The American then failed to regain the belt in the rivals’ trilogy contest last October.