Wilder was the big-punching, bigger-talking star who brought the WBC world heavyweight title back to America for the first time in nearly two decades. Chisora, on the other hand, never did get his hands on the world title despite two attempts.

That they will not box each other until their 40s seems strange given the relative paucity of high-level heavyweights during their generation. But it will be a case of better late than never should the two aging punchers serve up a classic at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.

The promotion to this fight, which tops the latest MF Pro event, has been notable for its complete lack of edge. To quote Wilder himself, these two are simply "mates" these days and as if to highlight the point, the pair went for fish and chips together before they sat at the top table for the launch press conference in London last month (Chisora paid).

For people of a certain age (mine), the atmosphere between them has actually been quite refreshing. It has certainly provided an antidote to the pointless, manufactured and usually distasteful ranting and raving that precedes a lot of these fights, which always end in hugging anyway. This column loves a bit of beef as much as the next one, but sometimes fish and chips from Borough Market is simply better.

“Me and the Bronze Bomber just hang out together, chilling,” Chisora said. “When you’re in your 40s we can’t be violent and talk smack. People at home will say that we are two grown-ups, we can’t be saying this stuff to each other.

“When you get to 40 you find yourself sitting down, eating a nice meal and wanting a glass of red wine. Then you sleep. In your 20s you shove it down there quickly so you can get to the pub.”

Even so, it was interesting to sit down with these two men separately to gauge their perspective on the sport which has paid their wages for the better part of 20 years. The results are in, and it’s not good.

“Chris Eubank said it right,” Chisora explains. “Boxing is full of scumbags. This is a scumbag sport. That’s what boxing is. But guess what? We like to deal with each other. It’s all part of the game. The conniving is beautiful. This is how life is and we love it.”

Wilder, however, does not look at things through quite the same lens.

“When I first got into this business, I thought it was very exciting and very fun because I didn’t know much about it,” he says. “But once you get into it, you see a lot of things behind closed doors. It can make you feel bad and sad.

“There are people who can lie to you and manipulate you and that’s why I say boxing mostly consists of criminals and whores, do you understand me?”

Fully understood. Of course nobody forced either man to box in the first place, and certainly not to dedicate half their lives to the endeavor like they have done. Their financial stability is one thing they can show for it, as their partners, children and extended families are all fully taken care of by the violence in which they trade.

But you sense that what keeps them coming back for more is the feeling they'll get on Saturday night when the ring clears and the first bell rings. Depending on what happens in the fight, there is a chance this just be the final time they get to experience it.

And, while they have walked very different paths in this sport, they would both agree that it was all worth it in the end.

Around 24 hours after Wilder and Chisora meet in east London, Ellie Scotney will fight for what she believes will be a unique treble 10 miles west.

Scotney, The Ring, IBF, WBO and WBC junior featherweight champion, faces Mayelli Flores for the final piece of the puzzle on her quest to become undisputed as part of the Easter Sunday MVP show topped by Caroline Dubois’ clash with Terri Harper at London’s Olympia.

A victory for Scotney (11-0) would make her Britain’s youngest ever undisputed champion in the four-belt era, but she pointed out to The Ring that more distinctions are on the table if she wins on points.

Scotney, 28, has still never won a fight inside the distance so a decision at the Olympia will continue that reign of terror. “I reckon that would make me the first ever undisputed champion in history without a knockout,” she said. “They should put me in the Guinness Book of Records for that.”

But what is harder to confirm is her claim that she might be the first ever four-belt champion to claim all the belts without a knockout – or a driving license. “I’d be the youngest one, with no stoppages and without a driver’s license,” she says. “It’s the hat-trick they all want.”

Scotney rides two trains, a tube and a bus to get from her home in Catford to train at Shane McGuigan’s gym in Leyton, but says she will treat herself to driving lessons and her very own Smart Car should she clinch the last title Sunday. It could be a bright day for British boxing but a dark one for the profits at TFL.