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By Keith Idec
Deontay Wilder told BoxingScene.com on Friday that he has received clearance from his doctor and has begun training for his comeback bout.
The unbeaten WBC heavyweight champion underwent separate surgeries four months ago to repair a broken right hand and a torn right biceps. Both injuries were suffered when Wilder stopped Chris Arreola following eight one-sided rounds of their title fight July 16 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
“I’m feeling great,” Wilder told BoxingScene.com. “Training is going great as well. Even when I was injured, I was still visiting the gym every once in a while. But I just got cleared by my doctor two days ago, so I’m full throttle. I’m ready to go. I’m looking forward to next year, and to announcing my return.”
The 6-foot-7, 225-pound Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will take a tune-up fight against an undetermined opponent to test his surgically repaired hand and arm early in 2017. If Wilder wins that fight, the American knockout artist will be obligated to defend his championship against the winner of a WBC interim heavyweight championship match between Russia’s Alexander Povetkin (30-1, 22 KOs) and Canada’s Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs), scheduled for December 17 in Ekaterinburg, Russia.
“Maybe February or March, somewhere in there,” Wilder said. “We’re still working some things out, different little things. We’ll see soon. We’ll know in January what’s going on, maybe by the end of December. Whoever it is, it’s gonna be good for my return. We’re just looking forward to the new year.”
Wilder’s return to the ring likely will take place in Birmingham, the site of three of his four fights since Wilder won the title from Stiverne in January 2015 in Las Vegas.
The 31-year-old Wilder was supposed to defend his title against Povetkin, then his mandatory challenger, on May 21 in Moscow. Povetkin failed a pre-fight PED test for meldonium the week before the fight, though, and it was canceled.
The WBC announced last month that Stiverne failed a test for an undisclosed banned substance in advance of the Povetkin bout, but it still will be contested two weeks from Saturday.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
