It’s no secret Deontay Wilder wants to become the unified heavyweight champion of the world. The American has been stating his ‘one face, one name’ catchphrase for some time now.
Missing out on a clash with long-time rival Anthony Joshua due to greed and unnecessary marination has badly irked the current WBC title holder.
After witnessing stablemate Andy Ruiz Jr. demolish Joshua’s cloak of invincibility in seven rounds, Wilder will no doubt have averted his crosshair target to the Mexican-American.
Ruiz will have a rematch with Joshua later this year, as stipulated in the contract. An impending fight Ruiz must win to cement his position as champion.
It’s possible ‘The Destroyer’ could only enjoy a reign of a few months before Joshua dusts himself down and comes back. But if Ruiz can repeat his amazing feat, Wilder will be banging down his door.
Al Haymon would hold all the cards in the top division. The wily advisor would want his star man (Wilder) given the earliest chance after a long wait.
Wilder has signed on to fight Luis Ortiz in the fall. A fight which is expected to happen before the Ruiz v Joshua return.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ is then tied to a second installment with Tyson Fury. The pair recently agreed contracts for a follow-on to December’s entertaining offering.
That clash may well be pushed back to accommodate Wilder challenging Ruiz, though.
UNDISPUTED
Ruiz v Wilder for the undisputed heavyweight crown makes total sense replace the Fury encounter on ESPN and Showtime/Fox PPV next February.
Haymon and Bob Arum should hold off on Fury until the summer if the opportunity arises to stage an in-house Premier Boxing Champions unification for all the marbles.
Fury would have to agree, but having the chance to claim every strap on offer against Wilder should be a no-brainer for the ‘Gypsy King’.
For now, Wilder v Fury II is on. When that battle takes place could be up in the air until the Ruiz v Joshua saga plays out.
Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay
