Deontay Wilder bizarrely delivered a five-worded message to Derek Chisora before throwing a huge right hand that knocked his rival through the ropes in the eighth round.
The Bronze Bomber secured a decision victory against the British star in their O2 Arena bout on Sunday (AEST).
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Towards the end of the contest, Wilder started having more success and eventually scored a knock down in round eight.
Chisora had landed a massive overhand right on the head of Wilder, but the American battled back as he stunned him with a series of hooks.
Del Boy was forced up against the ropes with Wilder preparing to take him out.
But just before he unleashed on Chisora, he appeared to say: “I’m sorry … I love you” to his rival.
Watch the moment unfold in the video player above
Some fans couldn’t believe what they were watching after hearing the words from Wilder.
One wrote on X: “Wilder saying I love you instead of knocking out the man what am I watching.”
Another said: “Deontay Wilder just said “I love you” to Derek Chisora. Boxing is so back.”
A third said: “Genuinely the funniest boxing match I’ve ever seen. Wilder stood there telling Chisora he loves him instead of just knocking him out.”
A fourth wrote: “Deontay Wilder says “I love you” to Chisora in the ring lol, what???”
There was a crazy start to the fight as Chisora’s cornerman rushed into the ring, before the pair traded heavy blows.
Wilder went on to score two knockdowns against Chisora towards the end of the fight after sending him through the ropes again in the 11th.
But Chisora battled back by downing his rival in the same round to make the scores much closer heading towards the finish.
In the end, the pair couldn’t be separated and it went to the scorecards – with Wilder winning via a split decision.
The judges scored it 115-111, 115-113 112-115 in favour of Wilder.
The American admitted he was reluctant to hurt Chisora in what was the last fight of his career.
“I saw the veins popping out of his temple towards the end of the fight and I didn’t want to hurt my brother. I said ‘you’ve got to live for your kids’,” he said after the fight.
“I started having fun in there because I didn’t want to hurt him.
“This is my brother, I love him so much. A lot of people say that just to say things. Although we are friends, this is going to make us best friends. I told him to bring his whole family down to Alabama and we’ll have a great time.”
This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.
