By Jeff Aranow: Unbeaten #10 WBC Gerald Washington (18-0-1, 12 KOs) is a possible opponent for WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) for his next title defense on February 25 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. RingTV.com is reporting that the 34-year-old Washington is one of three names that are being looked over by Wilder’s promoters as a replacement to fill in for Andrzej Wawrzyk, who failed a recent drug test for the fight and was subsequently pulled from the card.
Wawrzyk tested positive for the steroid stanozolol. There was no way that he could be left to face Wilder after that positive test.
Wilder’s management want to have his opponent dialed down and signed by tomorrow. It’s important that an opponent be selected right away, as there’s only one month to before Wilder fights on February 25 on Premier Boxing Champions on Fox. Washington would be one of the more interesting challengers for Wilder. In the past, Wilder has defended his WBC title successfully against Chris Arreola, Eric Molina, Artur Szpilka and Johann Duhaupas.
Wilder’s trainer and manager Jay Deas wants a guy that is around the same size as the 6’5” Wawrzyk. Gerald Washington is 6’7”, and has similar size as Wilder. Picking Washington would make things easier for Wilder, because he’s been training to fight a taller guy. It’s in Wilder’s best interest to fight a taller fighter in this fight, as he could be facing IBF champion Anthony Joshua later this year.
Washington has beaten Ray Austin and Eddie chambers in his last two fights. He fought to a 10 round draw against Amir Mansour in 2015. That was a fight that could have gone either way. Mansour is a pretty advanced fighter for Washington to have fought at that early stage of his career.
“We’re not trying to find a 5-2 lefty,” Deas said to ringtv.com.
Washington isn’t much of a puncher, but he does have a nice jab and he knows how to use his long reach effectively. It wouldn’t be surprising if Washington is able to hit Wilder a lot with his jabs. Wilder’s jab is underdeveloped. Wilder came into the pro game with almost no ability to throw a jab. He’s since learned how to use his jab, but he’s not nearly as good as Washington and fighters like Wladimir Klitschko.
For Wilder to beat Washington, he’s going to need to test out his surgically repaired right hand and bicep. If Wilder tries to jab his way to a stoppage like he did against Arreola, it could be bad news for him. Washington has the outside game to give Wilder a lot of problems in this fight. He’s got excellent boxing skills for a five-year pro with not much of an amateur background.