Stephen Espinoza believes the decision made by Deontay Wilder to remain at Showtime will be beneficial to the heavyweight champion long-term.
Wilder rejected offers from DAZN and Top Rank to sign lucrative deals last week. Ultimately, Wilder pledged allegiance to Showtime for the foreseeable future.
This means ‘The Bronze Bomber’ will be aiming for an endgame of a lengthy run on Pay-Per-View.
Speaking as Wilder announced his clash with Dominic Breazeale on May 18, Espinoza revealed his delight.
“(On) how we got here today. There are some things Deontay won’t say but I will say for him,” said Espinoza. “Over the last few months, everyone thinks they know what’s best for Deontay and he should take this deal or he shouldn’t take that deal. But there’s really only one person who has all the info and knows all the factors. There’s only one man who’s in a position to make that decision and that’s Deontay.
“What people fail to appreciate fail to take into account is that Deontay knows what he wants and what’s important to him. One thing that he values highly is independence so he’s not beholding to anyone. He doesn’t want to answer to anyone, not a promoter, not a network – no one.”
MAYWEATHER
Citing Floyd Mayweather’s carer move before he made it to the big time as the highest earner in the sport, Espinoza added: “Deontay is an entrepreneur who bets on himself like all the great champions have.
“Sugar Ray Leonard, Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather, they all took control of their careers. They took risks and they had great financial success because of that. But of course with that comes criticisms.
“When Floyd bought out his contract from top rank for 750 thousand dollars people thought he was crazy. When Mikey Garcia sat on the sidelines for two and a half years to get his independence people thought he was crazy. There are people out there who think Deonte is crazy and he’s got his critics. But the reality is he’s in charge of his career.
“He has demonstrated loyalty, but not the kind of loyalty that some of you think. There’s not a choice between loyalty and financial success. Showtime would never expect loyalty at the expense of long term financial success.
“So the reality is he’s made a decision that demonstrates his loyalty and a decision which guarantees financial success for a long, long time,” Espinoza stated.
