Deontay Wilder will be defending his WBC heavyweight title this weekend in Alabama (Photo: Stephane Trapp – SHOWTIME)
By Vitali Shaposhnikov
Deontay Wilder has certainly carved quite a name for himself. In the day and age when the heavyweight division seems dry, it is always refreshing to see someone with the dedication to come in swinging, especially when that results in a 97% knockout rate.
A respectful 33 victories and no losses puts Wilder in a very beneficial position. While some argue that he has not yet proven himself due to lack of top-rated competition, others claim that while that may be so, there isn’t a huge roster of exciting talented heavyweights to pick from.
Aiming at Wladimir Klitschko is definitely something that team Wilder has been focused on, but it might be a tad too early to put him in the ring against a seasoned veteran. Not that the fight wouldn’t be competitive, on the contrary based on Wladimir’s lackluster performance against Bryant Jennings, I believe that Wilder would push Klitschko to work harder and at a much faster pace.
But before he can claim his fair spot at a crack against the Ukrainian champion, he must win a couple more spirited matches. Wilder has an upcoming bout against Eric Molina in Birmingham, Alabama on June 13 on SHOWTIME, and if victorious, there are rumors of a Deontay Wilder vs. Alexander Povetkin showdown.
That would be a phenomenal fight, with both boxers being aggressive and hungry for a shot at Klitschko. While a knockout would almost certainly be the result, an easy fight is something that this would not come to be.
Having said that, Povetkin’s long time promoter Vlad Hrunov believes that Wilder is not interested in facing the Russian champion. Hrunov believes that it is not beneficial for Wilder to fight Povetin at this time, and that he will do everything to postpone the fight to a later time.
Hrunov explained that Deontay saw how good Povetkin was against Mike Perez, and is afraid of a loss. It is crucial to not that Povetkin became a mandatory fight against Wilder after his victory over Perez.
Vitali Shaposhnikov can be reached at vitalifightpress@gmail.com