By Chris Williams: A fight between WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs) and #7 WBC Dominic “Trouble” Breazeale (19-1, 17 KOs) is being talked about as the next fight for the two giant heavyweights, according to latest news chatter.
Breazeale, 32, beat Eric Molina (26-5, 19 KOs) by an 8th round knockout last Saturday night in a World Boxing Council heavyweight title eliminator match on the undercard of Wilder vs. Bermane Stiverne at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Breazeale knocked the 35-year-old Molina down in the 8th round. The fight was stopped in the same round.
Wilder vs. Breazeale would be an interesting fight between 2 Olympians that both stand 6’7”, and pack a wallop with each punch. Wilder defeated an even taller fighter in 6’8” Gerald Washington earlier this year in February in stopping him in round 5.
You can argue that Breazeale is a better option than Dillian Whyte. Breazeale has already fought for a world title before and lost to IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua by a 7th round knockout last year on June 25. Breazeale took a lot of shots in that fight and show a lot of heart.
Some boxing fans might not like the idea of Breazeale getting another title shot so quickly after losing his last one, the WBC’s rankings have gone through a lot of changes with Alexander Povetkin and Luis Ortiz losing out on title shots after testing positive for banned drugs in the recent past. Breazeale one of the best names in the WBC’s top 15 at this time.
There aren’t a lot of options out there for Wilder’s next fight aside from Breazeale and Dillian Whyte. Breazeale is a good option because it’s a fight that would take place in the U.S, and Wilder wouldn’t have to worry about being potentially robbed. If Wilder faces Whyte, he would need to travel to the UK and fight him in London, England. That would make Wilder the visiting fighter, and that could put him in a position where he might come up short if the fight goes the distance. It’s always tough for the visiting fighter to have to travel to another fighters’ home country and take big risks with the judging.
Former heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury congratulated Wilder on his win over Stiverne last night in commenting on social media.
“Great performance from Deontay Wilder. Just destroyed a top heavyweight,” said Fury on his social media site in talking about Wilder’s win over Stiverne. “The big boys. Better watch out. Whatever he hits, he destroys,” said Fury.