By Scott Gilfoid: WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) says he wants to get his WBC #1 mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) out of the way so that he can get to other things. He wants to defend his title against Povetkin in April at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
This is the same venue that Wilder defended his title against last month in stopping #8 WBC Artur Szpilka in the 9th round on January 16 in a competitive fight. Wilder sees Povetkin as the same type of non-threat as Bermne Stiverne was for him last year.
Wilder easily beat Stiverne by a lopsided 12 round decision in January of 2015. The hardest part about the Stiverne fight for Wilder was him breaking his right hand early in the contest after hitting Stiverne with a hard right hand. The broken hand took a while for Wilder to heal up.
Wilder isn’t afraid at all of fighting Povetkin. Perhaps he’s seen how easily the 6’6” Wladimir beat Povetkin in their fight in 2013, and he figures he can do the same thing.
“I got Alexander Povetkin lined up,” Wilder said to RingTV.com. “That’s what I know of right now. I want to get Povetkin out of the way. I’m demanding April that we get this on. Why would I give it up when I’m trying to unify (all the heavyweight belts)?” Wilder said. “It don’t make no sense. So I’m going to give it up to get one belt and then come back around to take the other belt and then go get the other one?”
There have been rumors floating around that Wilder plans on vacating his WBC title in order to avoid the Povetkin fight, and go after IBF champion Charles Martin. The rumors are totally silly because why in the heck would Wilder vacate his prestigious WBC title in order to go after the IBF belt?
It would be far smarter for Wilder to face Martin in a unification fight than it would be for him to vacate his WBC title. If Wilder vacated his WBC title, he would lose a lot of boxing fans’ respect with that move, because they would see him as a ducker. Wilder isn’t going to do that because he’s never avoided risky fights. He takes whatever risks that are presented to him.
It ain't easy doing what I do…. But it's worth it. Wishing the #BombZquadNation a happy and #blessed day… pic.twitter.com/MnTMkwKTyi
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) February 4, 2016
Povetkin looked terrible in losing to Wladimir a few years ago. Povetkin was just too small to land his shots against the taller Wladimir, and the fight turned out to be a real mismatch with Wladimir toying with the shorter Povetkin. For the most part, Povetkin looked like a pumped up cruiserweight against Wladimir, and it looked strange with the size differences between the two heavyweights.
“It’s a no-brainer,” Wilder said. “Right back there. Let’s sell it out again. Let’s do it,” Wilder said of wanting to fight Povetkin at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. “It would be the same thing as Stiverne. They said Stiverne was going to be a big step up for me and look what I did to the guy.”
I actually think Stiverne is a better fighter than Povetkin. Wilder says the Povetkin fight would be the same as the Stiverne fight, but I disagree. I think it’s an easier fight for Wilder fighting Povetkin than Stiverne.
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