By Edward Chaykovsky
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (36-0, 35 KOs) is training hard in camp for his scheduled defense against Chris Arreola (36-4-1, 31 KOs) at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama (Fox, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).
Wilder has been scheduled to defend his title on May 21 against Alexander Povetkin in Russia, but the challenger failed a pre-fight drug test and the fight was postponed by the World Boxing Council. Povetkin is being investigated by the WBC.
Arreola, who was already in training, accepted the opportunity to face Wilder on late-notice. This will be Arreol's third opportunity at the WBC belt after falling short in stoppage losses to Vitali Klitschko and Bermane Stiverne in the past.
Two of the big name possibilities for Wilder in the future include IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs) and IBO/WBA/WBO champion Tyson Fury (25-0, 18 KOs).
“Of course I would want Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua or whoever else is at the top of the food chain,” Wilder told Premier Boxing Champions. “But I’m focused on an impressive victory against Chris Arreola before I can begin to think about anybody else.”
Joshua recently signed an exclusive deal with Showtime, who also showcase Wilder's fights. A fight between the two of them is quite possible in the future and Joshua is willing to travel over to the United States to do it.
Wilder watched Joshua dominate Dominic Breazeale for a seventh round TKO win last Saturday at the O2 Arena in London.
“Breazeale did the best that he could do, but I’d like to see a more athletic guy in the ring to match the speed and power of Joshua, and that’s Deontay Wilder,” Wilder says.
“Joshua is still growing as a champion, and the U.K. fans are hyped for him. He’s still unknown in America, so I think that a fight against me on U.S. soil would put him on the map, even though he would lose.”
