Impressive Deontay Wilder Must Wait For His Shot At Anthony Joshua

Deontay Wilder has little option but to wait in the wings, if not quite the shadows.  Eyes may well be on Cardiff on Saturday night when Anthony Joshua defends his IBF world title.  But minds - not necessarily Joshua’s, but many of those around him – will be drifting into different directions.  One such direction is towards WBC heavyweight title holder, Wilder.

It’s not that Carlos Takam, the last-minute replacement for the injured Kubrat Pulev, should be dismissed. But he does not formulate as formidable a road-block as Pulev. But as grateful as the Cameroonian-French orthodox hitter will be for a significant, if unexpected, pay-day; the reality is he does not have enough to dethrone Joshua although he will be game in his efforts.

If Saturday goes as expected – a Joshua win with rounds to spare – then the queue of challengers will re-form. And Wilder will be simmering near the front of the line for his opportunity. Of course, he will have company – David Haye if he wins his rematch with Tony Bellew.  Tyson Fury.  Pulev won’t want his chance to disappear because of bad luck. Dillian Whyte – who had hoped it would be him fighting at the Principality stadium this weekend, as opposed to Takam.

But the most high-profile and probably the most anticipated would be a unification bout with Wilder.  Dates differ as to when Wilder-Joshua could happen.  Optimistically a summer 2018 meeting is possible.  All though the more conservative voices look as far ahead as 2020.  Varying factors come into play. Firstly, what opponents need to be cleared out of the way first. But also, financially, the purse will have to be agreed on and how its split.  And that doesn’t seem to be a meeting point just yet.

Wilder though, all things considered, very much should happen eventually for Joshua. There are no guarantees, but it would be more of a surprise if the two men did not meet in the next 12 months.

So just how formidable is Wilder?  Well, pretty formidable as it happens.  A bronze medallist at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing; the Alabama fighter has fought 38 professional fights since bursting onto the scene nearly nine years ago when he knocked out Ethan Cox. His record since is a catalogue of knockouts.

Next month he will defend his WBC belt against Bermane Stiverne in the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn.  It will be the best part of three years since he faced his compatriot in Las Vegas.  It was, in fact, Cuban heavyweight Luis Ortiz who was due to tape up in November; however, the World Boxing Association has suspended Ortiz due to a failed drug test.  

Regardless, Stiverne will be looking to win back the title he lost to Wilder in 2015. Wilder proved that night that he could take the hits and still move forward. He controlled matters with his jab and was composed in a bout he controlled well. It was not a fight that he added to his list of kknockouts – but the result was never in question.

So, for Joshua and Wilder to ultimately happen, the first step for the American is to repeat his performance against the hard hitting Stiverne.  But if he can keep his fellow American out of reach as he did at the MGM Grand in Vegas; Brooklyn should bring with it another victory. And another step closer to an anticipated meeting with Joshua.