By Jake Donovan
Deontay Wilder made history in his first title defense, with his home state of Alabama hosting its first ever heavyweight title fight. The event was so nice, his team is ready to do it twice.
The unbeatean heavyweight from Tuscaloosa will return to Birmingham for his second title defense, as he faces France's Johann Duhaupas at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex.
Event handlers have declined comment, other than acknowledging that the fight is a done deal. Paperwork has been filed with the Alabama Boxing Commission, which will host its second big event in the span of three months.
The bout will air live in primetime on free-to-air NBC, as part of Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series. Supporting fights have yet to be revealed, although more details are expected to come out during a planned press conference this Thursday in Birmingham. Two bouts have been rumored to take place on the show: a super lightweight fight between former lightweight champs Omar Figueroa Jr. and Antonio DeMarco; and a middleweight elimination bout between Julius Jackson—son of famed former middleweight champ Julian Jackson—and Rogelio Medina.
Wilder (34-0, 33KOs) will fight just three months after his first defense, surviving an eary score to eventually knock out Eric Molina in nine rounds this past June. The bout took place in front of a sold-out crowd of well over 9,000 packed into the Bartow Arena on University of Alabama-Birmingham campus.
The demand was great enough to convince his team to seek a bigger venue for his next fight. The BJCC—also known as Legacy Arena—holds more than 17,500, with event handlers anticipating a second straight sellout.
Duhaupas (32-2, 20KOs) will contend for his first major title, doing so while also making his stateside debut. The majority of his career has taken place in France, but the well-traveled heavyweight has fought in seven other countries over the course of his career of more than 11 years.
Included among the lot was his last fight, an upset decision win over Manuel Charr in Moscow, Russia. The feat was enough to land consideration for the biggest fight of his career, even if not a matchup that has been well-received by the boxing public.
Instead, the greatet challenge that could await Wilder is programming competition from college football, particularly from SEC (Southeastern Conference) powerhouses Alabama and Auburn. Both schools have home games that day; the famed Alabama Crimson Tide—whose campus resides in Wilder's hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama—faces Louisiana-Monroe, while Auburn has a more notable game versus division rival Mississippi State.
With upwards of 200,000 fans expected to attend the two games, a theory will be put to the test regarding Wilder's unofficial status as Alabama's lone professional franchise in a region where college football is a culture.
Still, Wilder has done more than his share to bring noteriety to his home state. The 6'7" heavyweight remains the last American boxer to earn an Olympic medal, taking home the bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Earlier this year, he became the first American since 2007 to own a piece of the heavyweight crown. The feat came in a dominant 12-round win over Bermane Stiverne this past January in Las Vegas. The win is considered the signature performance of Wilder's career to date, despite it marking the only time through 34 pro fights in which he failed to score a knockout.
The championship winning effort aired live on Showtime, as did his knockout win over Molina and the four fights prior to his hitting heavyweight paydirt. While serving as the face of Showtime, Wilder has been prominently showcased in advertisements that have run during various PBC telecasts since making its debut this past March.
In Wilder-Duhaupas, NBC will host its first heavyweight title fight in primetime in more than 20 years. The last such occasion came in May 1985, when Larry Holmes lodged the 20th—and final—successful defense of his heavyweight crown with a 15-round decision over Carl "The Truth" Williams.
With a win, Wilder will be mandated to next face top-rated challenger and former heavyweight titlist Alexander Povetkin by no later than January 2016. The two sides attempted to begin talks to fight on this very date, but ultimately proved to be a non-starter. Instead, they will enter negotiations in early October, with a purse-bid to be ordered 30 days later in the event that a deal cannot be reached.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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