Former World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, has been put forward as a potential opponent for reigning WBO, WBA and IBF champion, Oleksandr Usyk, after talks for a fight with Tyson Fury collapsed.
‘The Joker’ was expected to face off against reigning WBC king, Fury, in an undisputed heavyweight title bout at Wembley Stadium on April 29 but that fight is now off.
Both teams agreed to a 70-30 purse split in Fury’s favour before the highly anticipated four-belt clash fell apart and Usyk’s promoter, Alex Krassyuk, accused the Englishman of making ‘disrespectful’ demands.
Hall of Fame boxing promoter, Frank Warren, joined Krassyuk for an interview on talkSPORT where he claimed the point of contention was the purse split for a potential rematch.
The two men agreed to attempt to revive fight talks once their joint interview was done before Krassuyk suggested they had quickly failed by writing ‘Finita la comedia’, which translates to ‘End of comedy’, on social media.
Soon after talks between Usyk and Fury fell through, a prominent member of Wilder’s team was talking up a bout between ‘The Bronze Bomber’ and the undefeated Ukrainian.
Boxing manager Shelly Finkel, who looks after Wilder’s career, insisted during an interview with Sky Sports that his client is ready and willing to fight Usyk next
He said: “If the Oleksandr Usyk fight is available, Deontay Wilder will take it in a heartbeat.”
Wilder is looking to get himself back into title contention after suffering back-to-back defeats to ‘The Gypsy King’ who is now in possession of the WBC belt he held for years.
While a fight with Wilder is probably the most lucrative available to Usyk right now, it appears unlikely as the WBA are pushing for their heavyweight champion to defend against his mandatory challenger.
The boxing organisation is expected to order Usyk to face British heavyweight Daniel Dubois who beat Trevor Bryan to win the WBA’s regular title last June.
‘DDD’ boasts a 19-1 record and is currently riding a four-fight win streak following a shock stoppage loss to Joe Joyce in November 2020.