By Patrick McHugh: WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder’s promoter Lou Dibella is not happy with the World Boxing Council’s postponement of their scheduled fight against mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs), who Wilder was supposed to be fighting next Saturday night on May 21 in Moscow, Russia.
Povetkin tested positive for the banned substance Meldonium. The WBC says they want to investigate more before they make a ruling about a possible rescheduling. In the meantime, Dibella is angry because of the time, effort and the expenses that they’ve laid out for Wilder’s recent training camp.
They plan on waiting to see what the WBC will say on the matter before going in another direction. Wilder, 30, needs to keep busy with his career and cannot afford to be stuck in neutral while he waits for the WBC to make a decision about what they’re going to do with Povetkin’s situation.
“Any talk from [Andriy] Ryabinsky of a rescheduled date is both unfounded and premature,” DiBella said to ESPN.com “We need to sit back and await further rulings from the WBC, but we will weigh all of our options. He has gone through his entire training camp and expended a tremendous amount of time and money and energy. It’s awful.”
It’s obviously too late for Wilder to get a replacement opponent for next Saturday’s fight card at the Khodnyka Ice Palace in Moscow, Russia. You can do that kind of thing when you’re a contender, but as a champion, it’s not possible to replace opponents that quickly. It would be too risky for Wilder to fight an opponent that he’s only had less than a week to prepare for.
In looking at the WBC’s top 15, here are potential options for Wilder to fight in the coming months if the WBC decides to cancel his title defense against Povetkin:
Bermane Stiverne
Johann Duhaupas
Andy Ruiz
Bryant Jennings
Malik Scott
Artur Szpilka
Eric Molina
Dereck Chisora
Wilder already beat Molina, Malik Scott, Stiverne and Duhaupas. However, it’s going to be the WBC’s call in who Wilder fights, then he could wind up facing #2 WBC Stiverne, because he’s the next highest ranked contender in the WBC’s rankings after Povetkin is eliminated.
Ruiz (27-0, 18 KOs) fought last night in stopping journeyman Ray Austin in the fourth round in Studio City, California. However, when asked if he would like to fight Wilder next, Ruiz said he wants three tune-up fights before taking on Wilder. That won’t work for Wilder to sit around and wait for Ruiz to get those tune-ups out of the way.
The WBC will need to make a decision soon otherwise Wilder could be stuck waiting around for a long period of time before he gets a chance to fight again. Wilder last fought in January of this year in stopping Artur Szpilka in the 9th round.