Unless suffering from some severe delusions of grandeur, we assume that when WBC heavyweight champion of the world Deontay Wilder bellows his now famous “One Champion. One face. One name” he cannot be referring to himself.
Actions of course speak louder than words and Wilder’s actions suggest he will be hoarding that green belt until he is finally knocked out by a 10-1 underdog in a half empty hall someplace in Alabama.
Can there be any other reason he has passed up on the opportunity of $100 million, opted to fight Dominic Breazeale followed by Adam Kownacki and then taking on Luis Ortiz in a rematch late 2020. Ortiz according to some sources will be celebrating his 68th birthday next year.
With Wilder’s intentions clear and unification out of the question, one feels for the plight of Eddie Hearn.
Contrary to popular belief this is a guy who wants to make the big fights for his prize charge. He wants Anthony Joshua to crack America and he wants to bring excitement back to boxing’s glamour division.
How can this be achieved if neither Tyson Fury or Wilder will play ball?
Being a native New Yorker with a big persona Jarrell Miller was actually a decent coup for “fast” Eddie to introduce AJ to the United States, however when “Big Baby” took the decision to disgrace himself and his sport, was there really any opponent Hearn could have chosen that would not have been ridiculed? I think not. Andy Ruiz was ranked, ready and available to step in, but who is Andy Ruiz?
Bob Arum recently declared that Tyson Fury’s next opponent Tom Schwarz would start as favorite against Andy Ruiz. Bob is of course nearly as old as Luis Ortiz so we can be unsure if he is just trying to promote Fury’s opponent, was referring to John “The Quiet Man” Ruiz or is just simply confused.
Let’s not sugar coat it, Andy Ruiz may have fast hands with good all round boxing skills but he is overweight, not the quickest on his feet and has fought at a much lower level than Joshua. He seems like a nice fellow so I wish him luck and congratulate him on what is a financial windfall. I always like to back the underdog but in this instance all factors here point to a non-competitive one-sided beating in favour of the Brit, so on this occasion I will be keeping my money in my pocket.
Eddie Hearn may be a little embarrassed if June 1st is not a commercial success, but rest assured, come fight night neither he or Joshua will be dressed up like big bird from Sesame Street.
Saturday night “The Bronze Bomber” steps into the ring against previous AJ victim Breazeale. Wilder is a big favorite for sure, however both can punch and neither are too familiar with the finer intricacies of the sport, so this one could be a war while it lasts. Whatever happens as long as Wilder dons that bird costume again it will be a night to remember.
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