I’ve spent a lot of time with Derek over the years. We did plenty of sparring very early on in my career. Since then, I see him around all the time because Derek is absolutely everywhere – at every show and every event.
He has always been congratulatory of me, almost proud of me in a sense. I remember when I won my British title, he was one of the first people to FaceTime me the next morning to say well done.
Derek was also one of the only people, aside from my own team, who backed me going into both the Joseph Parker and Daniel Dubois fights. He’s always been on my side, so I’ve got a lot of love and respect for him.
When I first heard about him taking on Wilder – I have to be honest, it was quite a surprise.
It seemed like both guys had bigger fish to fry – there was talk of Derek getting a world-title shot against me, and Wilder was being lined up by Oleksandr Usyk.
Pulling away from those possibilities to fight each other was random, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.
This has that intriguing dynamic of two guys with 50 fights each. For me, it’s really a question of who’s still got what in the tank.
The momentum is with Derek. He’s been in with more lively opponents, proving himself better. He’s still got the energy, the durability and the power to deal with opponents and give them problems.
With Wilder, he’s been a bit more up and down – you’ve seen good, you’ve seen bad – so it leaves a question mark around what capabilities he has left.
Wilder obviously had his big world-title wins and those massive fights with Tyson Fury, but then he really fell into the background of boxing. He’s looked a bit scared in the ring at times.
After his losses to Parker and Zhilei Zhang, you didn’t see him at events, he wasn’t attending much, and he wasn’t really fighting.
It seemed like he’d taken a step back, that he wasn’t too interested in the sport any longer and might be close to retiring.
I actually met Wilder once in Dubai and he was great – cordial, high energy, a really nice guy – but as a fighter, of late, there is a question mark.
I really don’t know why the fight between Wilder and Usyk didn’t materialise. Usyk is one of the best fighters out there, and on a massive platform like that it all lies on you with a shot at the belts.
My only guess is that it came down to the age-old issue in boxing: money. I’ve got no inside knowledge, but that’s the only explanation I can think of.
I’d probably edge towards Derek as the favourite, but it doesn’t mean Wilder can’t pull out that equaliser.
I think if it’s Wilder, it’s a clean KO win. If it’s Derek, it’s an overwhelming barrage – working him down, punch after punch without much coming back, and then the referee steps in.
I said I want Derek to hang up the gloves regardless, but what Wilder does next if he wins really depends on the manner of the victory.
If he’s losing every round and then pulls a punch out of his back pocket, does that throw him right back into the mix? Maybe, maybe not. Or does it just show he’s not quite all there but still has that punch power?
I just don’t know if a win here puts him straight back in with the elite guys. In this game, you need consistency.
You also have to take into account the opponent. That’s not to say Derek isn’t a top-level opponent – he is – but age-wise and fight-wise, he’s at the back end with a lot of miles on the clock.
That’s very different to jumping in with someone like me, Usyk or anyone else in that top bracket.
Fabio Wardley was speaking to BBC Sport boxing journalist Kal Sajad.
