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Home » Deontay Wilder’s next fight still a mystery six months after knockout

Deontay Wilder’s next fight still a mystery six months after knockout

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Deontay Wilder remains no closer to returning to action six months after his first-round knockout victory against Robert Helenius.

Despite a fight with Andy Ruiz Jr. being sanctioned and lined up by promoter Al Haymon, Wilder is yet to sign on the dotted line.

Wild rumors of other fights, potentially against one of his major heavyweight rivals, continue to muddy the waters of the Ruiz clash.

Haymon wanted Wilder vs Ruiz to happen on March 25 in Las Vegas. He then targeted May 6 when the date became unworkable.

Canelo Alvarez then blew Cinco de Mayo out of the water by confirming a fight in Mexico. Now, Wilder and Ruiz both remain in limbo.

Wilder is linked to fights with Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk. At the same time, Ruiz is being pitted against Tyson Fury in the grapevine stakes.

Nobody in the camps of either fighter confirms either of the reports. Meanwhile, WBN still believes Haymon wants the fight to happen.

This is despite Ruiz walking away from the final fight of his deal. Mexico’s first heavyweight champion remains open to offers from Haymon.

Deontay Wilder’s next fight

As does Wilder, who has taken further control of his career by negotiating deals himself. “The Bronze Bomber” remains part of the Premier Boxing Champions family and will compete on their TV platforms if he fights in the United States.

Keeping relatively quiet in the media for Deontay Wilder, the 37-year-old spoke to Elie Seckbach recently to blast Fury and Joshua.

On Joshua, he said: “I think he traps [himself] in his mind. It can become pressure.

“He can be better than somebody, but the pressure, I think he gets in his own head and adds extra [pressure]. Because he can easily beat these guys with the right mindset.”

After meeting Fury in Saudi Arabia and seemingly being cordial, Wilder said: “I can’t stand that motherf*****. They know what’s up. He’s a cheater.

“But [Saudi Arabia] is a peaceful ground. There’s a time and a place.”

Andy Ruiz in limbo

A fourth bout was discussed if Wilder took the Ruiz fight, as the WBC had secured title eliminator status for the encounter. However, on the face of it, Fury vs Wilder IV wouldn’t need to be an eliminator anyway. If “The Gypsy King” wanted to face his nemesis again, he could.

Wilder is ranked number one and would be sanctioned to face Fury if that’s what the champion intended as his voluntary challenger.

Furthermore, Wilder seems to be only considering one of the three mentioned, with Ruiz waiting on the sidelines as a backup.

But with only two and half years left of his career [Wilder stated he’d retire at 40], he needs to move on.

Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN. Follow WBN: Facebook, Insta, Twitter