As Deontay Wilder prepares to defend his WBC Heavyweight Title for the ninth time Saturday night in Brooklyn, there’s more than just his unbeaten record and championship at stake. No, when “The Bronze Bomber” steps through the ropes at Barclays Center to face #1 ranked Dominic Breazeale, the bigger prize is eventually getting in the ring with unified title holder from England, Anthony Joshua.
Or, he perhaps gains more leverage for a potential rematch this fall with Tyson Fury?
And, like a baseball batting order, Wilder will get the benefit of being in the “leadoff spot” to do something spectacular Saturday and put the pressure on the two other big names that will be following him.
Joshua is slated to fight American Andy Ruiz in 2 weeks at Madison Square Garden, and then, Fury, who has ducked the Wilder rematch for now, will fight virtual unknown Tom Schwartz in a 10-round bout later in the month.
On the latest edition of the “Big Fight Weekend” podcast, I had the chance to bring on special guests to talk about Wilder and the implications of this title defense. Up first, is international Boxing Hall of Fame member and Showtime analyst Al Bernstein, who will be on the call with Mauro Ranallo and Paulie Malignaggi for this latest Wilder title defense.
Bernstein addresses everything from Wilder’s threats of violence in the ring against Breazeale, to how Breazeale might be able to pull the upset, and where does Wilder rank among modern heavyweight champions in terms of punching power?
Next up, David Payne of boxingwriter.co.uk in England is on the show. Payne also gives his thoughts on what chance Breazeale has for the upset and whether or not Wilder can take a big step forward in the court of public opinion with an impressive victory. Payne also previews to fight cards that will be in the U.K. Saturday afternoon, U.S. time.
They include super middleweight Billy Joe Saunders putting his unbeaten record on the line after a drug suspension has delayed him fighting in 2019. And also, the “World Boxing Super Series” double-header in Scotland that has two championship fights.
Finally, Marquis Johns, senior writer and purveyor of BigFightWeekend.com, is back on the podcast talking about Wilder and Breazeale mixing it up. Marquis thinks everyone should “settle down” about Wilder threatened to “kill” his opponent and maybe, listen to the sarcasm and movie character references from Wilder for clues about the situation. And, Marquis has more thoughts on the other news of the week, as well.
You can hear the discussion on the “BFW preview show’ here.
