With his win over Derek Chisora on Saturday night in the U.K., Deontay Wilder is back in the conversation at the top of boxing’s heavyweight division.
Things have been tough for Wilder over the past few years. “The Bronze Bomber” had gone 4-2 over the past five years and no longer looked like the vicious brawler who could knock out anyone with a single punch.
But Wilder showed up on Saturday night, taking the fight to Derek Chisora in what was an extremely entertaining affair. He’d knock the retiring
British heavyweight down twice en route to a 115-111, 115-113, 115-112 split decision win. We scored the fight 116-110 for Wilder, and it’s a good example of not-so-subtle U.K. boxing corruption that it was ruled a split (watch the highlights here).
So what’s next for Wilder? He’s got a lot of options. The biggest money possibility is Anthony Joshua, who is looking for a tune-up fight before stepping into the ring with Tyson Fury. Is Wilder really the guy you want to face in a tune-up, though? If Joshua passes, perhaps we could see Wilder versus rising heavyweight Moses Itauma. Wilder addressed the possibility after his win.
“I’m in the the heavyweight division. All these other characters is in the heavyweight division. Why not?” Wilder said. “You know what I mean? I’m not dodging anyone. I’m a veteran in the in the game. And I’m looking forward to fight any and all, you know, especially if the fans wanna see it. Then why not? Let’s see.”
Itauma is a relative newcomer in the heavyweight discussion, being just 21 years old and 14-0 with 12 knockouts. He already holds the WBA International and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight titles, though, and defeated Dillian Whyte late last year via first round KO.
“I didn’t know who Moses was,” Wilder admitted. “I’ve seen some of his highlights. I’ve seen his last fight with [Jermaine] Franklin, what a hell of a KO that he did. He seems like a potential champion that you guys have here. And so hey, why not test him out?”
