By Jake Donovan
Slowly but surely, the heavyweight division is making efforts to return to its longtime status as boxing’s glamour division. While it has a long way to go before once again serving as the face of boxing, a pair of news items from Monday certainly help the cause.
Hours after terms were reached for World heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko to next defend his crown versus unbeaten challenger Tyson Fury on October 24, BoxingScene.com was informed that Deontay Wilder will also return to the ring this upcoming fall. The unbeaten titlist, fresh off of a 9th round stoppage of fringe contender Eric Molina, has September 26 penciled in for his next ring date.
The challenger and fight location are still being worked out, but the bout will land in prime time on NBC, as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series. The plan was always to remain as active as possible, which is precisely why it was key to land a fight sometime in September.
That said, the targeted fight date holds additional meaning—it also happens to be the birthday for his longtime co-manager and trainer Jay Deas.
“We’re hoping for that date and a big win, which would make for the best birthday present I can ask for,” quipped Deas.
Wilder and his team nailed down details of the fight date and network during Independence Day weekend, during which he was honored in Birmingham. Included among the festivities was Wilder throwing out the first pitch for a Birmingham Barons minor league baseball game.
The honor came less than a month after fighting in front of sold-out crowd at Bartow Arena on University of Alabama-Birmingham campus, less than an hour from his hometown of Tuscaloosa. The night marked the first time in boxing history that the state of Alabama hosted a heavyweight title fight, although the night turned out to be far more than the expected showcase. Wilder was rocked in round three and had moments of difficulty before repeatedly dropping Molina en route to the stoppage win on Showtime.
With the win came the first successful title defense of the belt Wilder claimed in a landslide 12-round decision over Bermane Stiverne earlier this year. The feat earned the 6’7” boxer distinction of becoming the first American in more than seven years to lay claim to a heavyweight title.
He is also the last American boxer to capture an Olympic medal, claiming the bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics—thus his “Bronze Bomber” ring nickname.
In returning by late September, Wilder is able to squeeze in one more voluntary defense before entering negotiations with mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin. The mandatory title fight is due to take place by next January, with negotiations due to begin October 15.
Although the location for his next fight remain uncertain, a homecoming has been ruled out altogether. Wilder prides himself on serving as Alabama’s lone pro sports franchise, but he still lives in a region (SEC—Southeastern Conference) where college football is not just a sport but a way of life. His hometown also boasts the University of Alabama, whose Crimson Tide college football squad consistently ranks among the best and the most popular in the nation.
With the Tide scheduled for home games on every Saturday in September, Wilder’s team is on the hunt for locations where there is less of a need to compete with college football. Las Vegas and New York—either Madison Square Garden in New York City or Barclays Center in Brooklyn—are said to be in the mix, although not the only horses in the race.
Several opponents are in the mix, though none of which Wilder’s handlers wished to mention, on or off the record. There exists speculation that Chris Arreola could land the assignment, though such an announcement would be contingent upon his winning a stay busy fight on July 18 in El Paso, Texas. The two-time title challenger is due to face Fred Kasel on a show serving as a day/night doubleheader, with CBS and Showtime splitting the televised duties, respectively.
Wilder’s forthcoming fight will mark the first heavyweight title fight in primetime on NBC in over 30 years. The last such occasion came in May 1985, when Larry Holmes outpointed Carl ‘The Truth’ Williams in what served as his 20th—and final—successful defense of at least one heavyweight title. The legendary Hall of Famer lost his title and unbeaten record in his very next fight, dropping a decision to Michael Spinks, who became the first light heavyweight champion in history to move up and win the heavyweight crown.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
