He may feel he could get into the ring with Oleksandr Usyk tomorrow, but Frank Warren and the Queensberry connections will want to see him continuing to build the resume with no rush to win a World Title while they are largely locked up by the unbeaten Champion.
That is not to say there are no options out there- the winner of the Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois fight would be a natural fight for Moses Itauma later this year, although Wardley and Itauma share the same trainer.
Fighters like Filip Hrgovic are already scheduled for fights so the July return has to be focusing on the likes of Marat Gassiev, who holds the WBA Regular Belt, or perhaps fighters like Zhilei Zhang, Martin Bakole or Guido Vianello who all are available for that date that was mentioned last weekend.
The manner of the win over Jermaine Franklin Jr will have caught the attention of more fans and right now it is very difficult to imagine a situation where Moses Itauma is not joining the elite of the Division by the end of 2026 or in early 2027.
Sebastian Fundora was also an impressive winner last weekend, but it would be very good to see him in with younger, fresher opponents in the loaded Light Middleweight Division.
Hearing Xander Zayas and Boots Ennis have agreed to face one another should force Fundora's hand and the obvious fight has to be with Vergil Ortiz Jr.
It is not a situation in which I feel Fundora is actively avoiding the younger challengers around him, but following Keith Thurman with a bout against Errol Spence Jr would be really disappointing and especially when it looks like the Champion has improved.
The only way to test that would be to test himself.
If you had stated a little under a decade ago that Deontay Wilder was travelling to London to face Derek Chisora you would have made the American a big favourite and hoped it would soon lead to a clash with Anthony Joshua.
In April 2026, both of the main event performers are considerably in decline, although it does feel like Wilder is much further gone on current form.
There is still some interest in seeing this bout with the winner likely having one more big opportunity, while the losing fighter should be hanging up the gloves.
It is part of a busy weekend of Boxing with some decent prospects and former Champions mixing things up across a number of cards in the United Kingdom and further afield.
Deontay Wilder vs Derek Chisora
Two 40 year old plus Boxers meet in a Heavyweight contest in London and it is a fight that would have meant so much at the top of the Division if it took place a number of years ago.
These days Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora are on the final stretch of their respective careers, although the former still sounds like he harbours bigger ambitions than his opponent.
Deontay Wilder has spoken about what could come next, but Derek Chisora has openly spoken about retirement.
In a lot of cases that would mean red flags, but Chisora has regularly decided to have 'one more fight' and 'The Last Dance' was anything other than the case.
If he was to win, would you really see Derek Chisora walking away?
That is a question for another day and all eyes turn to London and see what these two fighters have left in the tank.
Make no mistake, those questions are largely geared towards Deontay Wilder who was last seen making harder than expected work of beating Tyrrell Herndon in June last year- the Seventh Round Stoppage was controversial in that Herndon still looked competitive, while Wilder had lost four of the previous five fights.
The third fight with Tyson Fury clearly took something away from Deontay Wilder who looked gun-shy in the loss to Joseph Parker before being wiped out by Zhilei Zhang. Instead of a fight with Anthony Joshua, that looked set if he had beaten Parker, The Bronze Bomber returned from a fourteen month layoff and failed to land anything serious against Parker and was beaten easily on the cards.
The Stoppage loss to Zhilei Zhang suggested his time at the top was over, but Wilder had been linked with a bout against Oleksandr Usyk and the motivation is clear- win this and he may just get the shot at the Undisputed Champion later this year.
Everything is about whether Deontay Wilder still has it in him to deliver the right hand that has brutalised so many.
Derek Chisora is in much stronger form having dropped his level since another defeat to Tyson Fury- the cards have been needed to beat Gerald Washington, Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin, but those are decent results and something that will give him confidence ahead of a meeting with this version of Deontay Wilder.
It has been seven years since Chisora last earned a Stoppage, but there is a belief that he can overwhelm Deontay Wilder with his stubbornness and willingness to push forward whenever he can. The looping shots have Knocked Down Joyce and Wallin so the power remains, but there is a danger with throwing those shots.
If, and it is a big IF, Deontay Wilder is still willing to throw his shots, the opponent in front of him looks wide open to the straight down the pipe. Timing is key, and Wilder's power can still be telling if he is able to land that shot right as Derek Chisora is looking to load up over the top.
The form is with Derek Chisora, but there is little doubt he has looked tired at times in his recent wins and those are not against someone who may yet contain the kind of power Deontay Wilder carries.
You can understand why Chisora is the favourite, but there is a nagging feeling that Deontay Wilder may yet have something left and he is a big price to put together enough of an assault to win this one to force the home favourite out before the end of this contest.
The undercard may not be the deepest, but there are a couple of British fighters looking to take the step to the very elite of their respective Divisions.
Denzel Bentley has mixed in that company before after a competitive loss to Janibek Alimkhanuly in 2022, but he suffered a big setback when losing to Nathan Heaney almost a year to the day later.
Wins over overmatched domestic opponents saw Denzel Bentley get back on the right track and his win over Brad Pauls looks all the better considering how Pauls has performed since then. The 31 year old put Brad Pauls on the floor in that win in December 2024, but it has been another significant layoff for him and Denzel Bentley cannot afford to think too far ahead.
The WBO Interim World Title is on the line after the aforementioned Alimkhanuly was suspended, although Denzel Bentley's team feel like the full World Title should be on the line.
He takes on 34 year old Endry Saavedra who has only had one fight since Denzel Bentley was last out and who is stepping up his level significantly. The Venezuelan is not Ranked by the other bodies outside of the WBO and this is a big chance for Bentley to move into a position for some big fights in a wide open Middleweight Division.
Endry Saavedra hits plenty hard, but so does Denzel Bentley and the latter can win the Title in some style.
A big opportunity has also been put together for Viddal Riley who is moving up a number of levels to see if he really does have what it takes to be a big player in the Cruiserweight Division.
He is unbeaten in thirteen fights and at 28 years old Riley wants to find out whether he has what it takes to mix with the elite of the Division.
Taking on Mateusz Masternak will give him every chance of testing that.
At 38 years old, Masternak's best days are behind him, but he has won three fights in a row since losing to Chris Billam-Smith in a WBO World Title bout in 2023. Six losses on the resume have almost exclusively been against the best opponents around and Mateusz Masternak will be well known to British fans having lost a couple of those to Billam-Smith and Tony Bellew.
This has not been lost on Viddal Riley who said he wants to outdo both of those British names, but he has also been very respectful of the fighter in front of him and his 'gatekeeper' status.
He expects to win, but Riley is well aware of how tough Masternak can be and the quality of fighter he has been.
Getting through him quicker than Chris Billam-Smith would be some statement, but an injury forced that Stoppage and the only other one on the Masternak resume came in the Eleventh Round.
He's tough and it will be difficult to break him down, especially as Viddal Riley has needed the cards in three of his last four wins as the opponent level has been lifted. The last win produced by Mateusz Masternak has to be respected considering it came in quicker style than Tony Yoka was able to produce against Joel Djeko and that kind of victory will just keep Riley focused as he tries to pick up the European Title on the cards.
The top fight of the evening takes place in London, but there is a decent card taking place in Cardiff.
Boxxer are the Promoters and this is one of the cards that they are putting together for terrestrial television in the United Kingdom.
The main event features Lauren Price as she looks to move a step closer to another big, big fight- she cannot overlook her unbeaten opponent, but the home fighter should be able to defend her hard earned World Titles.
The chief support looks really interesting as the vacant British Featherweight Title is up for grabs when Rhys Edwards faces Gully Powar.
Home advantage is with Edwards who has Boxed more Rounds and has had more fights compared with Gully Powar, but the latter was involved in the WBC Grand Prix tournament and had three bouts in 2025 compared with the single outing for Edwards.
Rhys Edwards has been involved in fights that have been closest to this Championship distance set for the British Title- he had three Ten Rounders in succession before an Eight Rounder last year and Gully Powar has only been beyond the Six Round distance once before.
It could be a telling factor, while Edwards is going to be feel he has been in with the tougher competition overall.
He will also believe he is more comfortable in the kind of atmosphere, but Powar is perhaps being underrated here.
There are questions to answer- showing off a gas tank to complete a Championship fight and Gully Powar is going to have to work hard to win on 'away' soil.
However, there were some very credible signs in the WBC Grand Prix and Gully Powar is someone who looks capable of stepping up and upsetting the odds.
Credit has to be given to Rhys Edwards for the performances he has produced at domestic level, but he may need to show some pop to keep Gully Powar from driving forward and that may allow the younger fighter to come away with an upset and the British Title to take back to the Midlands.
The long weekend in the United Kingdom means there are also a couple of cards being placed in Friday and Sunday slots.
Pat Brown entered the professional ranks with a huge amount of hype behind him and he is not taking a slow route to the top of the Cruiserweight Division.
There is a real hope that Brown will eventually campaign as a Heavyweight, but the 26 year old is focusing at the top of the Cruiserweight Division for now and is already Ranked with two of the organisations. The IBF route is perhaps the best to exploit after the World Title was stripped from Jai Opetaia, but Pat Brown has to focus on continuing his development.
All of his five professional bouts took place in 2025 and none of the last four have gone beyond the Second Round.
His opponent on Friday is ten years his senior, but Vasil Ducar is plenty experienced and the hope for Brown's team is that he can offer a different kind of resistance compared with recent opponents.
Vasil Ducar is a familiar name to British fighters having taken Chris Billam-Smith, Jordan Thompson and Cheavon Clarke all to the cards, albeit all in losing efforts.
One Stoppage is on the record and that came after ten completed Rounds against Mike Perez.
This gives Pat Brown something to aim at, but also suggests him winning by Stoppage is a very short price.
Chris Billam-Smith put Ducar down a couple of times in the middle of that Ten Round win, but it may be worth backing Pat Brown to do a little better and actually break down this opponent.
The favourite option in this fight is expecting Pat Brown to win before halfway again, but he may have to take a bit more time with an experienced campaigner and backing the British fighter to end this in the second half of the fight looks worth an interest.
Two different cards are going to take place several hours and thousand of miles apart with the first of those featuring a former World Champion out in Australia.
The timing is so a solid American audience can tune in to see Tim Tszyu who has promised a big performance ahead of a rumoured bout against Errol Spence Jr in the summer.
He had been out in December, but Tszyu was not at his best, which is perhaps not a surprise considering he had lost three of four fights prior to that outing. Getting Ten Rounds under the belt will help and he is facing another unbeaten opponent having taken that record from Anthony Velazquez.
Denis Nurja travels to Wollongong with a 20-0 record, but he has never competed at this level and looks to be coming in to give Tim Tszyu a chance to showcase his credentials.
A relatively early night is in the offing for the Australian who can make a statement for those who believe his career may be on the downward slide.
Later on Sunday, the UK will have Sky Sports returning to Boxing with a new Promoter leading the way for the channel- Jake Paul has signed a big deal with the company and that means there will be a big showcase of women's Boxing, while Zuffa Boxing have also made a deal to have their own events broadcasted on this platform.
Caroline Dubois and Terri Harper have been involved in a fiery build up ahead of this Unification main event in the Lightweight Division.
Neither has much time for the other, but Caroline Dubois is a worthy favourite.
She has shown decent pop, even while still working under the two minute per Round limit, and Dubois looks like she is on a mission to win this one in some style.
Terri Harper, like many of the women Boxers, has been up and down the Divisions, but both of her previous defeats have been in Stoppages at the hands of Alycia Baumgardner and Sandy Ryan. She has picked up this WBO World Title by ripping it away from one unbeaten fighter and then defending against another so there is some confidence, but Harper is going to have to show some resistance.
Stoppages have been harder to come by for Caroline Dubois in recent outings- none of her last seven fights have been prior to the cards being needed. However, four of those fighters have been put down and Terri Harper may not have the resilience she will need to keep Dubois from rolling through her in this main event.
MY PICKS: Deontay Wilder to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 3.25 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Denzel Bentley to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 3.60 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Gully Powar to Win @ 3.75 William Hill (1 Unit)
Pat Brown to Win Between 6-10 @ 4.33 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Tim Tszyu to Win Between 1-5 @ 3.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Caroline Dubois to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.87 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Boxing 2026: 9-19, - 11.65 Units (45 Units Staked, - 25.89% Yield)
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