By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (35-0, 34 Kos) has a media workout on Saturday afternoon in New York at the Gleason’s gym in Brooklyn. Deontay won’t be facing #8 WBC Artur Szpilka and #3 WBC Vyacheslav Glazkov unfortunately.
Wilder and his management still don’t have any idea who he’ll be facing next month. It’s more than a little disappointing because it means Wilder could wind up facing a weak 2nd tier opponent if he can’t get any of the top tier guys to agree to fight him.
We did learn that Wilder is willing to travel to Russia in early 2016 to face his #1 WBC mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin if it comes to that. Wilder isn’t afraid to fight Povetkin in front of his own fans in Russia. He feels he’ll whip Povetkin anywhere on Earth.
‘I’ll still whip his [expletive],” Wilder said about Povetkin. “I’ll go anywhere. If he wins the purse bids, then we have to pack our bags and these warm coats and these leather gloves. If that happens and we have to go to Russia, we’ll be prepared.”
Deontay isn’t happy that Glazkov opted to go the IBF route to try and get a shot at new IBF heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The IBF title will likely be stripped of Fury soon for failing to face Glazkov, which will give the Russian fighter his best chance of winning the vacant IBF title against the next available contender.
“It’s frustrating, having no opponent…Anywhere I go, I’m always going to get criticized for fighting. If I were to beat [Wladimir] Klitschko, people would say ‘he’s past his prime.,” Wilder said via Fight News.
If you're at @barclayscenter for the #BattleForBrooklyn then you heard it live. I'll be back in the ring on 1/16! pic.twitter.com/18bL0CIOhQ
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) December 6, 2015
Promoter Lou Dibella revealed that Wilder won’t be facing Szpilka like what was rumored.
“This is a Showtime fight…there is no opponent and no discussion took place about that,” Dibella said via Fight News.
It really doesn’t matter that much that Wilder won’t be facing Szpilka because there are better options than him in the top 15 if he can get one of the top guys willing to face Wilder.
What makes things potentially difficult is a lot of the top heavyweights are licking their chops at the thought of getting a nice payday fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, because he’s a vulnerable heavyweight and the top heavyweights obviously like their chances against him. They probably small blood in the water and want to tear Fury apart like a pack of sharks wanting to tear up their vulnerable prey.
Wilder does believe that Fury will beat Klitschko in their rematch in 2016. Wilder says that father time caught up with the 39-year-old Klitschko, and Fury was in the right place at the right time in getting that fight with the aging Ukrainian heavyweight.
Deontay also said that his 1-year-old child hits harder than Fury. Deontay further said that when/if he gets a shot at Fury, he’s going to bum rush him and look to KO him immediately in the 1st round. Deontay won’t give Fury any respect at all like Wladimir did last Saturday night.
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