I don’t have to throw tables – Chisora on facing Wilder

Deontay Wilder said he has to have a “sick mind” to want to fight his friend Derek Chisora as the heavyweights prepare to do just that on 4 April in London.

The pair are well-established showmen who often keep surprises up their sleeves at media events – Chisora once chucked a table at Dillian Whyte.

But Wilder and Chisora struck an unusually friendly chord at the launch news conference on Wednesday.

With both men facing their 50th fight and perhaps having matured beyond their past antics, Chisora said he introduced Wilder to fish and chips at London’s Borough Market before the media event.

“I don’t have to flip tables, spit water in anyone’s face, I don’t need to threaten anybody. We both know what we need to do,” Chisora said.

“I don’t want to sell this fight with violence, because there’s too much violence in the world right now.”

Chisora admitted the mood will switch in fight week, but also said he might go on holiday to Alabama, where Wilder lives, with his family after the bout.

The 42-year-old, who took to the stage draped in a UK flag and bandana, continually described Wilder as his “brother”, while the American said the fight was “must-win” for him.

Chisora intends to retire after his 50th contest, while Wilder hopes to make a final run at becoming a two-time heavyweight champion.

“I need this fight. I need Derek more than he needs me because of what he brings to the table. I feel like I’m back,” Wilder said.

“I’ve been broken down and built back up again. I’m looking forward to it and can’t wait.”

The heavyweight bout will intrigue the boxing public and is likely to draw a sell-out crowd to the O2 as only the second time Wilder will fight in the UK, but will compete with two other shows for attention that weekend in the country.

Wilder, 40, stands at a career crossroads with four losses in his past six bouts.

Successive defeats by Joseph Parker and then Zhilei Zhang prompted a year-long lay-off from the sport.

Wilder said he attended therapy during that period because of “problems outside the ring” and felt he was “mentally done for” preparing for his recent fights.

He returned in June last year to knock out the unheralded Tyrrell Anthony Herndon in seven rounds and could secure a world title fight with a win over Chisora.

“You want to fight Oleksandr Usyk, I am the gatekeeper,” Chisora said.

Chisora intends to bring the curtain down on a professional career that has spanned 19 years and 346 rounds.

It is not the first time the two-time world title challenger has branded a fight as his swansong, but when promoter Frank Warren suggested there could be another bout in him if he wins, Chisora interrupted, saying: “I am, please, please, please.”