Deontay Wilder believes his stunning and ruthless knockout power should prevent him from campaigning lower than heavyweight.
The 35-year-old is convinced the WBC shouldn’t consider allowing him to take on fighters between 200 and 224 pounds.
World Boxing Council chiefs announced the new class recently, which was thought to have been with Wilder in mind.
Previously, the ‘Alabama Slammer’ had outlined ambitions to become a two-weight champion, even at the lower cruiserweight.
But asked whether he’d consider a run in the newly-formed ‘Bridgerweight’ division at super cruiserweight, Wilder surprisingly ruled it out.
“If it’s specifically designed for me and to be the face of it, I decline,” he pointed out to Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast. “My career is to be a heavyweight.
“That’s what I got in it for, and that’s what I’m going to end with.
“Guys always outweigh me. In my last fight, I was 231, so as far as putting on weight, that’s not a difficult part of me.
“My power makes up for all that. I have too much power for a weight class that low. I should be exempt from that.”
DEONTAY WILDER NEXT MOVE
Wilder also won’t be sitting around waiting for mediation to rekindle a trilogy with Tyson Fury following the collapse of another battle in 2020.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ was due to meet Fury in a third meeting over the summer, only for the pandemic to push it back.
December was earmarked to stage the contest in Las Vegas before Fury claimed a deadline had passed to make the deal happen.
Now, Wilder has left it in the hands of his team – including Shelly Finkel, so see whether a WBC heavyweight title shot is possible.
If it proves too difficult and Fury negates again, Wilder will decide his next move.
“You can see me back in the ring sometime in the first week of January, the latest early February. We’re looking through opponents now,” Wilder told Brian Custer on The Last Stand Podcast.
“We’re not going to sit around. We won’t wait on no coward that has an obligation to fulfill but ran away from it.
“We’re not going to sit around. We got to get back in the ring. I got a lot of fans looking forward to me stepping back into the ring and doing what I do best,” he added.
Listen to more from The Last Stand with Brian Custer on YouTube.
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