After spending nearly a year out of the ring, Deontay Wilder is back in the thick of it by calling for a fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ hasn’t fought since last year when he was knocked out by Tyson Fury in their trilogy bout and after the loss Wilder even considered retiring.
On October 15, however, Wilder is back, as he is set to take on veteran heavyweight Robert Helenius at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
It’s by no means an easy fight, as Helenius is in good form, but if Wilder emerges victorious, his next challenge could be much tougher.
Recently, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was called out by unified world heavyweight champion Usyk, who is coming off back-to-back wins over Anthony Joshua and is currently ranked as the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the sport, but that didn’t stop Wilder from jumping headfirst into the challenge.
“Music to my ears,” Wilder told Premier Boxing Champions during his recent media workout.
“Usyk is a very honorable person and a man of his word, so I’m looking forward to it…
“A title shot, you have to jump on it when the opportunity arises.”
Eddie Hearn, however, who promotes Joshua, has stated publicly that he doesn’t believe Wilder will win a single round against Usyk, but ‘The Bronze Bomber’ thinks the promoter is just bitter.
“Everyone has their own opinion,” Wilder told FightHype, “I can’t take his opinion away from him.
“Maybe he’s feeling a little salty because his fighter got beat up, who knows?”
Despite the naysayers, Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott is extremely confident that his man can not only beat Usyk, but also become the undisputed world heavyweight champion.
“Trust me when I tell you right now,” Scott told Premier Boxing Champions, “Deontay is the only heavyweight in the world who could beat Oleksandr Usyk…
“Deontay is going to be a double champion, but this time he’s going to get all the belts back.”
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