By Charles Brun: Gareth Davies sees no way on Earth that former WBC heavyweight belt-holder Deontay Wilder will agree to accept a step aside payment so that Tyson Fury can face Anthony Joshua next.
Even if the money were available for Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) to step aside, it would be a terrible move on his part.
Beyond the image that Wilder, 34, would present in stepping aside, there’s a chance that Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) could retire after beating Joshua. If that happens, then Wilder would never get a chance to avenge his loss to him from last February.
It’s vital that Wilder at least TRY and avenge the loss to Fury. If Deontay steps aside, it tells fans that he lacks the courage and self-confidence to fight Fury in the trilogy match. Of course, if Wilder faces Fury and loses in an equally lousy fashion as he did last February, his career will still be on skid-row.
Deontay has a chance against Fury
“If it was me, there’s no way I would take step aside money if I were Wilder,” said Gareth Davies to IFL TV on Wilder. “There’s no way on Earth if I have a contract to fight Tyson Fury again that I would step aside because you have a chance to put the record straight.
“Regardless of what anyone says about your performance in the second fight, and regardless of being written off in the third fight, don’t underestimate these guys. He’s still an elite fighter,” said Gareth about Wilder. “If something goes wrong with Tyson Fury during fight week, Deontay Wilder could have the WBC title back. There’s every chance of him doing that.
“Don’t write him off in the third fight. It’s a fascinating prospect. I never thought he would take a step aside, not even for $10 million step-aside, which isn’t a bad handout when you don’t have to go get beaten up and go into camp and all of those things.
“If Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua fought, and Tyson earned $50 million or 40 million pounds from a fight with Joshua, Wilder’s legacy is ruined by that, or he’s risking it. Fury could walk away at that point, and he’s claimed a whole era. So the chess game doesn’t work for Deontay Wilder to say, ‘No,'” said Gareth.
Wilder has a great chance of beating Fury; as long as his legs are at full strength, his weight is right, and he’s ready for a physical fight. Deontay can’t be weighing in the 230s, and he can’t afford to wear a 40+ pound ring-walk vest before the start of the battle.
Dillian Whyte has a lot of options
“So I think Dillian Whyte still fights Alexander Povetkin or [Joseph] Parker if that comes up,” said Gareth. There’s been a lot of heat between them. Dillian has been running his mouth about everyone. [Talking about] Andy Ruiz and Joseph Parker, and setting up fights for himself, cleverly by slagging these guys off, and getting them to respond.
“So, there’s a bunch of fights there that I would love to see Dillian Whyte [take]. I would love to see a Parker rematch because that was one of my favorite fights from last year. It was really entertaining. It was brilliant to the end.
“A lot of people write stories on the Internet just based on a comment that this has happened,” said Gareth on the way boxing fans get excited about talk of Wilder and Kubrat Pulev stepping aside. “Bob Arum, MTK Global, Frank Warren, and Eddie Hearn, Shelly Finkel and Jay Deas.
“They only posit an idea, and it gets turned into on a podcast into a bonafide story. We know what’s happening in the industry. The only way conceivably, and I think Bob Arum touched on this a few days ago. It is possible to talk about Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury fighting each other,” said Gareth.
It’s hilarious that heavyweight Dillian Whyte is doing a better job of lining up potential future fights with his trash-talking than his promoters are doing for him.
If Whyte gets past Alexander Povetkin, he’s got the option to face Joseph Parker in a rematch or Andy Ruiz Jr. if Matchroom Boxing can come up with an acceptable offer.
Whyte is probably going to play it safe after the Povetkin clash, and wait for his title shot against WBC champion Tyson Fury. It’s risky as it is for Whyte to fight the 40-year-old Povetkin, but it’s a whole different kettle of fish if he faces an in-shape Andy Ruiz Jr. or Joseph Parker.
If Whyte loses to one of those guys, he can say goodbye to his mandate title shot against WBC champ Fury.
Wilder unlikely to step aside
“Still, it’s a future business deal based on a venue like Saudi Arabia or Jeddah, who want to come up with a site fee of $150 million, let’s say, to make the fight happen there regardless of how big the audience is. Then it’s possible to posit those types of arguments.
“But even he [Arum] was saying, we’re only talking about that in the even of this and this happening. I.e., Joshua beating [Kubrat] Pulev and Fury beating Wilder. So that’s all it is. People making plans for the future, and that’s all that’s going on right now.
“It’s doubtful, and I say again, that Wilder will step aside. If there was a big site fee like that, and Saudi said, ‘We want Joshua and Fury,’ that’s the only way Deontay Wilder could get that kind of thing,” said Gareth.
Wilder might step aside if he was offered an obscene amount of money, but that’s not something that has a realistic shot at happening. If there were no pandemic, then potentially one of the Middle East countries might be interested in offering a huge amount of money to host a Joshua vs. Fury fight.
With the big money offered for that fight, Wilder might get a big step aside fee. Right now, the pandemic changes the whole game, making it pretty much impossible to get the money to pay Wilder to step aside.
Tony Bellew has NO shot at beating Andy Ruiz
“One thing I didn’t agree with on ‘Lockdown,’ and this might have come from the Eddie Hearn show with Tony Bellew is Tony Bellew saying that he’d do Andy Ruiz,” said Gareth. “Not a chance in hell. Sorry, Tony, you are dreaming. There’s no way he beats Andy Ruiz. Absolutely no way.
“Come on, Tony Bellew doesn’t beat Andy Ruiz, does he? Not even remotely. He’s not even a heavyweight,” said Gareth.
Tony Bellew (30-3-1, 20 KOs) would probably never agree to face former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. (33-2, 22 KOs) if the match were offered to him.
An in-shape Ruiz destroys Bellew within five rounds in a mismatch. Yeah, Bellew lasted eight rounds against former IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in November 2018, but that was against a small 200-pound non-puncher, who fought timidly through the first seven rounds.
When in good condition, Ruiz weighs in the 250s, he’s powerful and he faster hand speed than Usyk. On top of that, Ruiz wouldn’t be cautious about attacking Bellew. He’d go right after Bellew from round one, and look to take him out immediately or wear him down fast.
If Bellew’s who rationale behind saying he could beat Ruiz was so clout-chase [name drop], then he should have aimed higher toward Joshua, Wilder, Whyte, or Fury.
