Wilder claimed only the second decision victory of his 50-fight career when he beat Chisora by split decision at O2 Arena on the first ever MF Pro show in England.

But the 40-year-old says he felt like he was fighting both Chisora and the referee at times due to some of Bates’ strange decision making throughout the wild brawl on the banks of the Thames.

“Oh my goodness,” Wilder said at around 2am local time at the post-fight press conference. “So many things went on. I got hit in the head at least 10-12 times and then when I finally retaliate and hit back you’re pointing fingers at me.

“Do you know how many fighters got hit in the head and don’t wake up tomorrow? That’s why I might not even go to sleep tonight. Because I am aware of what getting hit in the back of the head can do.

“I feel good externally but internally something could be developing inside of me that I can’t see right now because the referee decided to allow something to happen that shouldn’t have happened.

“I just hope and pray the boxing commissions, the people, do something about these things. That referee shouldn’t be able to ref again. That’s just my honest opinion. How many times did I get hit in the back of the head?

“The referee asked if we had any questions and it was one of the things that we asked him not to allow - being hit in the back of the head. Then it’s supposed to be a disqualification because his team ran up in the ring. I’m fighting Derek and the referee, it’s crazy.”

That moment, when one of Chisora’s corner team ran into the ring, came in the very first round and should have resulted in an immediate disqualification. At the time, Wilder and Chisora were tangled in the ropes and refusing to stop hitting each other despite Bates' desperate attempts to split the pair.

But Wilder’s long-term manager Shelly Finkel explained why that was just one of five key moments where the referee got it wrong.

Chisora was twice given a count for falling through the ropes after punches from Wilder but Finkel said the rules were broken when a different member of the Englishman’s team appeared to help his man back up.

Then, in a strange moment at the end of the third, Chisora complained to Bates about a problem with his eye. At that point, Finkel says the referee should either have stopped the fight completely or allowed Wilder to continue. He did neither.

Finkel said: “One, if your corner enters the ring, it’s an automatic disqualification. Number two, if you’re knocked out of the ring you have 20 seconds to get in but you’re not allowed to be helped by your corner. Number three, if you get hit and you’re falling but you grab the rope, it’s an automatic eight-count. Number four, if you get hit after the bell, it’s the ref’s discretion to take a point off. Number five, when Derek stepped back and touched his eye, that’s not allowed. You either stop the fight or you don’t interfere. These are the rules of the game. I’m glad my guy won because I thought he was going to get robbed.”

So incensed was Wilder that he even claimed that it was the sort of refereeing performance that could drive a fighter towards the use of performance enhancing drugs.

He said: “When you get certain referees it’s a scary thing. That's why a lot of these fighters put certain drugs in their body, to do things their body’s not supposed to be, because they’re afraid. Not only of getting robbed by referees but because they think the other fighter is cheating as well, especially having home advantage. I don’t let those things get in my mind. I really love this sport.”

This was Wilder’s first fight in Britain since he knocked out Audley Harrison 13 years ago. But, when asked whether the officiating on Saturday night would put him off a return, he said: “No it wouldn’t. One bad apple doesn’t spoil the show for me. I love coming over here where some of the best fans in the world is. Boxing is like the second sport here.”