A bright and effervescent smile was plastered onto the face of Deontay Wilder on January 17th, 2015. On the night, the Alabama native fulfilled a lifelong dream of becoming a heavyweight titlist, defeating Bermane Stiverne via lopsided unanimous decision.
As Wilder has sent countless bodies crashing down to the canvas, resulting in 10 successful title defenses, his stature in the boxing world only grew, and so did his bank account. Ultimately, however, Tyson Fury truncated the heavy-hitting star’s WBC title run in 2020. After sealing his man’s fate in their immediate rematch, Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) would remain sequestered on the sidelines for nearly a year.
But, having thought long and hard during his time away, the 36-year-old decided against walking away from the sport in its entirety. Alternatively, Wilder will officially return on October 15th, in Brooklyn’s Barclays Center in the main event slot. Should Wilder pick up the victory, his road to becoming a two-time heavyweight champion will become a clear one.
In addition to exuding confidence ahead of his ring return, Wilder, more than anything, smiles sinisterly as he depicts what his future championship run will look like.
“The second reign is going to be a fun reign for me,” said Wilder during a recent virtual presser.
Currently, despite Wilder’s comprehensive self-belief, he’ll have to patiently wait his turn before attempting to win his second world title. Just a few weeks ago, Oleksandr Usyk defended his WBO, WBA, IBO and IBF world titles against a determined Anthony Joshua. Shortly after, WBC titlist, Tyson Fury, instructed his team to do whatever it takes to lure the Ukrainian star into the ring to crown boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis nearly two decades ago.
Moreover, while Helenius vs. Wilder has been tabbed as a WBC title eliminator, with the victor moving on to a final eliminator with Andy Ruiz. Joe Joyce vs. Joseph Parker, which will take place on September 24th, will place the winner at the front of the queue in the WBO sanctioning body, as the WBO interim trinket and a mandated title shot will be on the line.
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