Deontay Wilder is the latest American to be heavyweight champion. Though most of the public is pining for Wilder to fight Anthony Joshua or a rematch with Tyson Fury, boxing’s politics just isn’t allowing it yet.
In the case of Joshua, Matchbook’s contract with DAZN is the impediment. If Wilder wants the fight, Matchbook and DAZN wants to have the broadcast rights and why wouldn’t they? The subscription based outlet can’t afford to allow their main fighters, Joshua and Canelo Alvarez, fight outside of their control. Without true negotiations between the outlet providers, the fight might not happen for another year or two.
Pretty much the same goes for a Fury rematch. The first fight was a classic and fans deserve this rematch. The rematch looked inevitable until Fury decided to sign with Top Rank. Bob Arum’s company has an agreement with ESPN+ so guess what they wanted? Yep. Wilder to sign a deal with ESPN+ to get the fight.
The danger behind Wilder doing either one is his relationship with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC). PBC has strong ties with Showtime and Fox so it’s in Wilder’s best interest to keep them in mind when it comes to his signature fights. Becoming a network nomad for his signature fights could bite him in the end so his stance makes sense.
Wilder is coming off of complete destruction of Dominic Breazeale. The trash talk leading up to the fight was contentious and quickly got personal. Wilder did what he said he would do. He stretched Breazeale out on the canvas in less than a round.
Since the fans can’t get a rematch with Fury, we’ll be treated to a rematch with Luis Ortiz. In their first fight, Ortiz appeared to have Wilder hurt in the 7th round but he failed to put away the champ. Wilder would gather his bearings and knock out Ortiz out in the 10th.
According the ESPN’s Dan Rafael, after Wilder’s fight with Ortiz, he will fight Adam Kownacki in early 2020. This allows the American champ so time before hitting the negotiating table with Joshua or Fury again. “The great thing is all these fights are in discussion. The big fights will happen,” said Wilder.
