DiBella: Washington a Better Opponent For Wilder Than Wawrzyk

By Keith Idec

Deontay Wilder wasn’t going to fight an elite heavyweight February 25 no matter what happened.

Wilder wants to test out his surgically repaired right hand and right biceps before agreeing to take a more difficult fight. Nevertheless, promoter Lou DiBella believes Andrzej Wawrzyk’s positive test for a performance-enhancing drug has helped make a more competitive fight for Wilder next month.

Undefeated Gerald Washington has agreed to replace Wawrzyk.

“In this case, losing an opponent has resulted in a much better matchup for fight fans,” DiBella said as part of the official announcement Monday. “Gerald Washington, one of the highest-rated American heavyweights, is a huge man and a physical specimen.”

A U.S. Navy veteran, Washington played college football for USC and was a member of the practice squads of the Seattle Seahawks and Buffalo Bills before turning to boxing.

“He’s made a successful transition to boxing,” DiBella said, “and has been working toward his shot at Deontay Wilder and a heavyweight championship.”

The 34-year-old Washington is unbeaten (18-0-1, 12 KOs), but his split draw with hard-hitting Amir Mansour (22-2-1, 16 KOs) in October 2015 was widely viewed as a controversial decision because Mansour seemingly did enough to win that 10-round fight in Shelton, Washington.

In his last two fights, Washington has beaten onetime heavyweight contender Eddie Chambers (42-5, 23 KOs) by unanimous decision in an eight-rounder and knocked out former contender Ray Austin (29-8-4, 18 KOs) in the fourth round.

Washington is rated No. 10 among the WBC’s heavyweight contenders. Poland’s Wawrzyk (33-1, 19 KOs), who’s ranked No. 12 by the WBC, was knocked out in the third round by former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin (31-1, 23 KOs) in May 2013.

“I was disappointed when Wawrzyk tested positive for a banned substance and wasn’t available to fight,” Wilder said. “I didn’t want to disappoint my loyal fans in Birmingham, who have always supported me. I’m glad Gerald Washington stepped up to the challenge and allowed us to go forward with the show. He’s a tall heavyweight, with a good jab, and the kind of test that I need coming back from surgery on my biceps muscle and my right hand. I’m looking forward to putting on a good show for all my fans.”

The 31-year-old Wilder had surgeries to repair the aforementioned injuries two weeks after dominating Chris Arreola (36-5-1, 31 KOs, 2 NC) on his way to a technical knockout win July 16 in Birmingham. Washington stopped Austin on the non-televised portion the Wilder-Arreola undercard.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.