Chisora beaten by Wilder in captivating bout
Chisora - who rolled up to Thursday's news conference in an army tank - travelled to fight night on the London Underground and was greeted by a huge roar. The crowd inside the 20,000-capacity arena was not quite full, but it was loud and partisan. A bizarre opening round saw the heavyweights become tangled on the ropes, continuing to throw punches while ignoring the referee's calls to break.
A member of Chisora's team even climbed into the ring before order was restored. Chisora - fighting at the venue for the 11th time - was second best in the early exchanges. "Go back to your boxing.
Get that jab working," his trainer urged. The Zimbabwe-born heavyweight's jab was largely non-existent but an overhand right - a trademark Chisora shot - stunned Wilder in the fifth. Suddenly it was Wilder who looked vulnerable, as Chisora pressed forward while two-time world champion Anthony Joshua urged his friend on from ringside by calling for an uppercut that never came.
The fight continued and Wilder pushed Chisora over in the fifth before landing after the bell in the sixth, while both men tumbled to the canvas more than once. Then came a Wilder right hand in the eighth - the punch responsible for most of his 43 knockouts in 44 previous wins. Chisora, partly outside of the ropes, beat the count at eight, eyes glazed, as Wilder stalked forward.
Wilder was docked a point for pushing, and both men ended up on the canvas again in the 11th, though neither incident was ruled a knockdown. How Chisora survived to hear the final bell was astounding. Despite the absurdity of the whole fight, there was no bad blood as the self-styled "brothers" embraced at the end.