By Jake Donovan
With all of the major heavyweight hardware in the possession of two fighters, it's only natural for boxing fans to want to see a unification bout between Wladimir Klitschko and Deontay Wilder.
Klitschko owns the majority of the heavyweight real estate, in addition to global recognition as World heavyweight champion. His title lineage traces back to a 9th round knockout win over Ruslan Chagaev in June '09, having also held at least one alphabet title since April '06.
The lone trinket not in his possession is the WBC belt, also the only alphabet title he's never held during his Hall of Fame career. That title currently belongs to Wilder, who made his first defense in a tougher-than-expected 9th round knockout over lightly regarded Eric Molina this past Saturday.
Wilder's win played to a sold-out crowd of 9,347 at the Bartow Arena on University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB) campus, less than an hour from his hometown of Tuscaloosa. The bout served as the first time in history that any portion of the heavyweight crown was defended in the state of Alabama.
Another history-making moment could be in store should Klitschko and Wilder eventually collide. While true title lineage remains a key part of heavyweight history, at no point have all of the major titles been unified, at least not since the World Boxing Organization (WBO)—and to a lesser degree but still in the mix, the International Boxing Organization (IBO)—have gained worldwide recognition as major titles.
Both fighters are keen on such a fight happening down the road.
“He’s one of my targeted opponents. He’s holding a title I’ve never had before and I definitely want to unify all the belts, but it's not a must,” Klitschko (64-3, 53KOs) stated in a recent segment of Ringside on Sky Sports. “If that's not going to work, I'll still be the heavyweight champion of the world. It's not a must, but it would be nice to unify that belt that Deontay Wilder holds.”
Wilder—who has previously sparred with Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko, having always held both in high regard—is more than willing to make that happen. However, as the defending titlist pointed out, with multiple titles come multiple mandatory obligations.
Klitschko is fresh off of a 12-round win over Bryant Jennings this past April at Madison Square Garden in New York City, his first fight in the United States since Feb. '08. He is due to next face Tyson Fury, with the two sides close to reaching a deal for a clash that will land somewhere in Europe.
Wilder (34-0, 33KOs) is planning to return to the ring in September, a fight that may or may not come against mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin. If not, then such challenge will still loom overhead for his subsequent ring appearance, with negotiations to be ordered in October and his mandatoy defense due by January.
“Klitschko got a lot of things going on. I tell people all the time, it’s not a fight that if it’s going to happen, but when it’s going to happen,” Wilder assured the assembled media on hand during Saturday's post-fight press conference. “He got his mandatories going on. I have my mandatory going on.
“It’s a fight that likely happens in 2016. It’s not something that you will have to wait five, six years for it to happen.”
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox