By Jake Donovan

A sigh of relief came when the fans and media were finally met with the official announcement that Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder agreed to terms for their long-awaited (if not dragged out) heavyweight title fight. The two will collide January 17 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with SHOWTIME to televise.

Confirmation of the mandatory title defense after months of stalled negotiations, which included ordered purse bids being postponed on at least two occasions while Don King—Stiverne’s promoter—and Al Haymon—Wilder’s adviser—tried to figure out when and where to stage the event.

Or so the official story goes.

There was a lot of speculation as to why talks lasted so long, with the biggest hang up believed to be Wilder’s status with Golden Boy Promotions. It probably shouldn’t matter, since the fight was finally made. But while questions remained on the minds of many media members during a recent conference call to discuss the fight, all parties involved acted as if it were merely business as usual.

“There were a lot of people involved,” Camille Estephan, Stiverne’s manager insisted matter-of-factly when broached with the subject. “It is what it is, with the politics in the sport. Now we’re here, and Bermane Stiverne will open up a lot of eyes (on January 17).”

Any time negotiations involve Haymon or King, some sort of hangup is expected to follow. However, the Hall-of-Fame promoter—perhaps the most identifiable carnival barker in boxing history—believed the months-long process to be a breeze compared to what he’s had to contend with in the past.

“This year is the 40th anniversary of the Rumble in the Jungle,” King points out, referring to Muhammad Ali’s reclaiming the heavyweight championship from a then-undefeated George Foreman, which took place in Oct. 1974.

The bout is easily the most remembered event in boxing history among living participants, but was a fight that had more than its share of headaches. Even before the fight was delayed by a month—the postponement coming barely a week before fight night—finding a home for the sport’s most prestigious prize was a major hurdle in making it a reality.

“Think about everything we had to go through,” King recalls in his best efforts to compare then to now. “In a time, you’re talking about difficulties and still difficulties with racism and what not. Think about back then when you had to go from country to country to country to find a site.

“You have to think about what’s real versus what’s practical. Al Haymon is icing on the cake; it’s like a glorious dinner. I think Al Haymon is great. It’s dealing with what’s real and what’s practical.”

Given the groundswell of buzz surrounding the heavyweight clash, it seems that absence has made the heart grow fonder.

“There hasn’t been the demand we’ve seen for this fight in a long time, other than a [Floyd] Mayweather fight,” points out Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager for Showtime Sports.

Stiverne (24-1, 21KOs) makes the first defense of the title he won in a 6th round knockout of Chris Arreola in their rematch this past May. The win proved historic, with Stiverne becoming the first-ever Haiti-born fighter to win a heavyweight title.

Wilder (32-0, 32KOs) comes in having won all of his fights by knockout since turning pro in Nov. ’08. The Alabama-born and bred heavyweight is the last American to have captured an Olympic medal, claiming heavyweight bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics—the only male boxer from either of the past two U.S. teams to bring home hardware.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox