Wilder following his latest win preached patience to his fans regarding a possible fight with JoshuaGETTY IMAGES
Boxer Deontay Wilder on Saturday after knocking out Dominic Breazeale to retain his heavyweight title "promised a highly anticipated fight against Anthony Joshua would happen, but he called for fans to remain patient," according to Dejan Kalinic of SPORTING NEWS. Wilder said that he "remains unsure" when the Joshua fight will take place. But he said, "This fight will happen. The big fight will happen, I promise you that, with patience, come time, and I just want you guys to have patience and gives us a little time to make this thing happen so we all benefit from it, not only just you fans" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 5/19). SI.com's Chris Mannix writes the "biggest fight to be made in boxing" is Wilder-Joshua, and there "really isn't a close second." A Wilder-Joshua fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship is the "kind of fight that would draw in thousands, millions of mainstream sports fans starved for this type of event." Wilder's co-manager Shelly Finkel "listed Joshua among three finalists for Wilder's next fight," along with Tyson Fury and Luis Ortiz, who "climbed into the ring after Wilder's win, ostensibly to begin promoting a rematch of last year's compelling fight." Joshua's promoter, Matchroom Boxing's Eddie Hearn, "believes an Ortiz rematch is all but locked in for Wilder in the fall" (SI.com, 5/20).
RETURN TO GLORY: The NEW YORKER's Kelefa Sanneh wrote American boxing fans "once again have the thing they always seem to want: an undefeated homegrown heavyweight star with a big mouth and a big punch" in Wilder. Since the "heyday of Mike Tyson, it has sometimes seemed that the only people who care about boxing are hardcore fans." Major fights "appeared late at night on premium cable, HBO, and Showtime; the biggest ones were available only" on PPV. The "emergence of Wilder has coincided with the emergence of two other heavyweight kings, both British" -- Fury and Joshua. Three "exciting heavyweights" on three "ambitious platforms for boxing" in Showtime, ESPN and DAZN. Sanneh: "What's not to love?" (NEWYORKER.com, 5/17).
