Deontay Wilder, who has won two in a row for the first time since 2019, is ready for another gigantic fight.
Wilder scored a scarce points victory over Derek Chisora in Manchester last month, keeping alive a career that many thought was over after successive defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
With his confidence boosted, the 40-year-old ‘Bronze Bomber’ said he would do everything to become a two-time world champion before hanging up his gloves for good.
A shot against unified champion Oleksandr Usyk, while discussed, is unlikely due to the Ukrainian’s list of mandatory challengers. Instead, Wilder is in the best position to secure a powerful ranking and win the vacant belt if the opportunity arises in the next 18 months.
The only man willing to risk his No. 2 spot in the WBA rankings is fellow American Jarrell Miller. The controversial heavyweight fighter known as “Large Baby” talked about it. Play UK after years of trying, he’s still chasing the fight.
“Anyone who wants to go in there and throw their hands around has something in the tank. They’re still unsafe anyway.” But I’ve been asking him to fight for years, so if he gets vintage overnight, that’s his problem. I’m still going to punch him in the face.
Miller further added that he wasn’t terribly impressed with Wilder’s recent performance in the UK, but says a win would keep a potential rivalry between the two alive.
“I don’t think Chisora was the same Chisora who fought Joe Joyce and Otto Wallin. Sometimes fighters get older overnight. Maybe he wasn’t as motivated for this fight as usual. I don’t know.”
“I expected a little more from Chisora in this fight, but that’s how it is. Wilder won, so now it’s better for me. I’ll try to fight a gigantic American fight and we will win.”
Miller, 37, failed to impress in his January fight against Kingsley Ibeh. He won, but his hair falling off during the fight made headlines, not the performance. The Brooklyn native returned in April against undefeated Lenier Pero and looked the better, winning a 12-round unanimous decision.
Notable for failing a doping test prior to his canceled fight with Joshua, “Large Baby” represents a gigantic name in the division. Given Wilder’s knockout streak and both fighters’ ability to sell the fight, a fight in America would be really gigantic.