The Wilder-Fisher Fight That Almost Happened in Istanbul

Deontay Wilder came close to a summer scrap with Johnny Fisher in Istanbul before the whole thing fell apart, the British heavyweight has revealed. Fisher said Eddie Hearn FaceTimed him alongside Turki Alalshikh a couple of weeks before his Matchroom contract expired, floating Wilder in Istanbul for the end of August. His answer, according to Fisher, was immediate: yeah, no problem.

It never got past the talking stage. Fisher chalked it up to the usual boxing politics — deals that get announced on social media and then quietly evaporate, even when the man in charge thinks they're locked. For Wilder, 45-4-1 with 43 knockouts, that collapse might turn out to be a lucky break, because a far bigger name has since entered the frame.

Usyk Comes Calling

With Oleksandr Usyk vacating his three heavyweight world titles, the lineal champion is now eyeing Wilder as the opponent for what he's calling his 'Last Dance.' The talk points to December or early 2027 for Usyk's send-off. That's a step up from anything Fisher could have offered, and it explains why the Istanbul plan quietly slid off the table.

Usyk sits at 25-0 with 16 stoppages and is fresh off an eleventh-round TKO of Rico Verhoeven. Pairing him with Wilder's power would be a genuine puncher-versus-technician showcase — and a fitting curtain call for a fighter who's cleared out the division.

Wilder, for his part, is finally trending upward again. His split-decision win over Derek Chisora in April marked his first return to a UK ring in 13 years and, crucially, his first back-to-back victories since 2019, when he still held the WBC belt. That's a modest run by his old standards, but after a rough stretch it's enough to keep him in the conversation for a marquee farewell fight.

Fisher Moves On

Fisher, meanwhile, has his own new chapter. The rising domestic star suffered a setback against Dave Allen last May before bouncing back with a stoppage of Ivan Balaz in December. He's since signed with Dana White's Zuffa Boxing and will debut for them on September 26, headlining the Copper Box Arena in London — Zuffa's second UK show. The Wilder night in Istanbul didn't happen, but Fisher's got a spotlight of his own to worry about now.