Boxing
Deontay Wilder feels Tyson Fury rematch will take heavyweight division to even higher level
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After the era of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis came to a close in 2003, the heavyweight division became an afterthought. Vitaly and Wladimir Klitschko were at the top of the heap, but the lack of credible challengers and their fights often happening in Europe instead of the United States set the division back for nearly 15 years.
The current state of the heavyweight division, however, is filled with excitement and led by Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. And they have competitors such as Andy Ruiz Jr., Dillian Whyte and Daniel Dubois nipping at their heels.
It's something Wilder, who looks to make the 11th defense of the belt Saturday night in Wilder vs. Fury 2, has been proud to be a part of since winning the WBC heavyweight title from Bermane Stiverne in January 2015. The "Bronze Bomber" has been up to the challenge of making the "land of the giants" great once again.
"The heavyweight division is in a great direction," Wilder said at a Tuesday media roundtable. "A magnificent direction, in an exciting way. We all can remember when the heavyweight division was like in a dark hole, a dark tunnel. We had dominant champions, but you know, no one knew who was the heavyweight champion in the world, especially here in America. When you are a heavyweight that's up in the division, it’s kind of depressing when people (are) going around and not talking about your sport or even in your division that you're in. So I knew that was going (to) be a hard task for me to (over)come, especially in America. I am a champion. I'm the only (heavyweight) champion here in America. It would have been something I would have to carry on my back, just like I did the Olympics (in 2008, where Wilder won the bronze medal). But I was up for the test."
Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) catches a lot of flak because he's not afraid to speak his mind in a world where athletes often choose to be politically correct, and because many have said he's a one-trick pony who'll eventually be exposed.
But that one trick is arguably the single hardest punch in boxing history, his right hand. Because of that, fans of the sport and ones looking on from afar have become glued in anytime Wilder steps into the squared circle to see if the devastating right hand will connect. When the dust settles inside the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas this weekend, the heavyweight division will be in a better place because of the rematch between two marquee names in the sport.
"A lot of people don't appreciate or didn't appreciate (me)," Wilder said. "I think over time they have come along even the naysayers, the doubters, or even maybe I became the last man standing in their roster of fighters that to be great. I'm the only one to support so now they're coming around. But whatever the case in the matter may be, we're here. We're all together. We're here. The heavyweight division is booming, is on fire, and they say when you have a healthy heavyweight division, everything else falls and it becomes great. So you know, I think we were in the right direction. Now we're right where we need to be, and it can only go up from here."
