Deontay Wilder – Statement Creates Greater Anticipation for Super-Fights

Deontay Wilder – Statement Creates Greater Anticipation for Super-Fights

By Sina Latif 

Deontay Wilder’s brutal first round knockout of Dominic Breazeale was a statement made to his rivals, unbeaten IBF, WBA, WBO and IBO champion Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

The WBC champion was entering the bout following the first setback of his career, a con-troversial split draw against Fury in December, and could not have returned to winning ways more emphatically.

It was expected that Wilder may have to overcome adversity at times if Breazeale landed shots of his own in order to overcome his hard-hitting challenger from California. It didn’t quite play out like that. Breazeale did show heart to momentarily wobble Wilder with a big right hook of his own when backed up on the ropes to stay in the fight for a few seconds longer, but then the next flush right hand that landed instantly floored the Californian, and the fight was over.

Wilder and Joshua have struggled to reach an agreement on a blockbuster super-bout in the past, but Wilder was insistent in his post-fight interview that the pair will face off in the ring. He told Sky Sports: “It will happen, I believe in all my heart it will happen.”

Also regarding a rematch with Fury, with many feeling that Fury had outboxed Wilder in their December fight, the Alabama native stated: “The rematch will happen, like all these other fights will happen. The great thing is all these fights are in discussion. The big fights will happen.”

Initially this is music to boxing fans’ ears, or perhaps the naive spectators, because nothing is that simple in the modern heavyweight division.

For the near future, promotional and network issues make it difficult for a fascinating three-way rivalry to get underway which could match any in history. Wilder, Joshua and Fury could produce a golden age in heavyweight boxing, but things did not used to be so difficult in the past when it came to producing the big fights.

A long-awaited unification with Joshua would be mouth-watering.

A factor that makes a historic and legacy-defining fight between Wilder and Joshua intriguing, is that both have vulnerabilities. Neither are amongst the craftiest heavyweights there has been, which means fireworks are inevitable.

The two champions, alongside Fury, should be bulking up their pockets being involved in mega-fights, similar to the glorious 70’s era involving Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman. The three elite heavyweights of this era bring their own distinct excitement to the ring, and are charismatic out of the ring. Instead, there is numerous barriers and egos preventing these fights.

A rematch with Fury is a fight that fans would love to see. Wilder had been outboxed for large periods of the first fight and Fury rose from the canvas twice, including a miraculous rise from a massive knockdown in the final round, to salvage a disputed split draw against ‘The Bronze Bomber’. A rematch to see how the two giants would fare against each other once more would be fascinating.

However, the reality is that a rematch with Ortiz is the most likely next fight, with the Cuban entering the ring after the Breazeale fight as talks of a Wilder vs Ortiz rematch intensify. Although their fight 14 months ago was very entertaining, there has not been a real demand from fans for a rematch. Also, Ortiz demonstrated in the first bout that he is a risk, but the rematch would most likely be a pay-per-view bout and pocket Wilder plenty of money. The likelihood is that Wilder would beat Ortiz in better fashion than their first meeting this time, as father time is not doing the Cuban any favours.

In a recent interview with ESPN, whilst speaking to Ariel Helwani, when Tyson Fury was asked whether he was the one who walked away from the rematch with Wilder following his ESPN deal, the ‘Gypsy King’ said: “Deontay Wilder apparently signed a three-fight deal before I signed an ESPN deal. He signed a deal to fight Dominic Breazeale, Luis Ortiz and Adam Kownacki. So this is all done before we even put pen to paper.”

The way in which circumstances are materialising suggests that this is true, which unfortunately means that boxing fans, who are so regularly deprived of major fights, have to remain patient for a little while longer. Fans who have become all too accustomed to suf-fering and being patient whilst waiting for the fights that they really want.

Paulie Malignaggi said it best: “The big three, they are very good, but they’re not so good that the guys beneath them can’t touch them or beat them. If they don’t have a good night and somebody who they are facing may have their best night or a very good night, the po-tential for an upset is there.”

Think Lennox Lewis vs Hasim Rahman, or Mike Tyson vs Buster Douglas. None of the current top three elite heavyweights are immune from suffering a loss. Not by any means.

Let’s hope that the fights we all truly want to witness are made before the party is ruined, or diminished.

This can be a great era, and we want to see how it will unfold! If the fighters themselves stand up and say they only want to fight each other and nobody else, the fights will happen.