Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilde returns to the ring on Saturday night, when he faces veteran Robert Helenius at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The fight with Helenius will be the first for Wilder since suffering a knockout loss in his sensational trilogy fight with current WBC champion Tyson Fury last October in Las Vegas.
The bout with Helenius is a semi-eliminator under the WBC.
If Wilder wins, he would then fall in line for a final eliminator against former unified champion Andy Ruiz - who recently defeated Luis Ortiz to win his side of the semi-eliminator.
Eddie Hearn, promoter of Anthony Joshua, believes Ruiz would overcome Wilder if the two boxers met in the ring.
Ruiz knocked Joshua out in June of 2019, but six months later he was outboxed over twelve rounds in their rematch.
'I seen Andy Ruiz call out Tyson Fury. No one ain't fighting Andy Ruiz in a hurry. He's a handful, and we found that at Madison Square Garden, and AJ dealt with him in Saudi Arabia. He's a handful," Hearn told The DAZN Boxing Show.
"I think Wilder-Ruiz is a great fight. We'll see what happens in the Helenius fight, but if Wilder wins that fight, I would love to see Andy Ruiz against Deontay Wilder. I really fancy Andy Ruiz in that fight. He's the smaller guy, winging those shots over the top if he can get on the inside against Wilder. Wilder can beat anybody on his day. He has great power.
"What I'm saying is Andy Ruiz is a nightmare for tall guys because his movement is so good, and it's difficult for small guys to get on the inside. He does get on the inside, and he's not afraid to let them go when he gets there, and he's not afraid to trade. But Wilder has the power to take anyone out, including Andy Ruiz, but it's a great fight."
