After a fight with Anthony Joshua failed, the World Boxing Council will be forced to approve Deontay Wilder versus an upcoming heavyweight contender.
World Boxing News understands that a decision will be made at the forthcoming WBC Convention in November. However, it will be a ruling the WBC didn’t want to make.
Firstly, the WBC wanted Deontay Wilder vs Andy Ruiz Jr as their stipulation, with the winner facing Tyson Fury. Negotiations for that mouthwatering battle collapsed over money.
Deontay Wilder’s next opponent
Secondly, as Wilder made his feelings clear to World Boxing News exclusively that he wanted Anthony Joshua next, the WBC altered its course.
They moved Joshua above Ruiz in the ranking, hoping they could order that fight as the new eliminator next month. On the face of it, this now seems to have backfired.
Dropping Ruiz to number five and pushing Joshua to number two has left a dangerous juggernaut in third spot. Man mountain Arslanbek Makhmudov, billed from Canada, is peering at a title shot from just outside the top two places.
Given that Joshua is no longer interested in fighting Wilder, according to Malik Scott, the WBC will have no choice but to approve a different route.
The WBC has to order Deontay Wilder vs Arslanbek Makhmudov based on the rules and regulations. In addition, they can only defer again if Wilder pulls out of the negotiations.
Scott stated in his recent address to the media that Ruiz could be back in the frame. However, it’s hard to see how the WBC can backtrack on its original order when they downgraded Ruiz from two to five.
A council meeting will have to be planned before they discuss the ranking situation in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, starting from November 12.
Wilder vs Makhmudov
It’s hard to see how the WBC can approve Wilder vs Makhmudov when the fans would much rather see the Ruiz fight, if not the Joshua headliner.
Wilder isn’t showing that much interest in fighting himself right now. “The Bronze Bomber” is participating in a Reality TV show before he resumes his career.
This decision could prove costly if the WBC bypasses Wilder and Joshua. If they do, this favors Makhmudov and the number four-rated Frank Sanchez.
That isn’t out of the realm of possibility. However, if Deontay Wilder wants that crack at the undisputed winner of Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, the fasted route is to stick with the WBC and face whoever they stipulate in November.
Right now, without AJ, that’s Makhmudov. He’s a boogeyman of the division that Fury has already stated he’s not interested in facing.
All will be revealed next month.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer.
Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
