Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will earn a chance to face former unified titleholder Andy Ruiz Jr for the mandatory position, only after he scores a victory over Robert Helenius this weekend, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has confirmed.
Deontay Wilder’s a mature fighter, but it’s a comeback fight: Mauricio Sulaiman
After a year without activity and suffering two knockouts in his last two outings, Deontay Wilder will be back in action this 15th of October against Helenius- the first step of his journey to becoming world champion again, but before that he has some hurdles to overcome.
First, Wilder will meet Robert Helenius on Saturday in a fight that could take him to a final eliminator for the WBC heavyweight title, for which he will have to face Ruiz.
“If Wilder wins, he will be fighting Andy Ruiz,” Sulaiman stated, “Because of the mandatory position of the division.”
‘The Destroyer’ is coming off of a win over Luis Ortiz on September 4, which earned him one step towards the world title fight. Now, Ruiz awaits the winner of Wilder vs. Helenius, which will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Sulaiman opines that the most complicated thing will be to see how “The Bronze Bomber” arrives to the squared circle this Saturday night, after a year long hiatus and two back to back losses.
“He’s a mature fighter, but it’s a comeback fight,” the WBC prez went on, “Here you have to see the inactivity, also the issue is going to be his mental state for the fight.”
Wilder clinched the WBC championship in January 2015, when he defeated Bermane Stiverne and continued to make 10 title defenses for five years, until Tyson Fury dethroned him in February 2020 via 7th round TKO in seven rounds, prior to the start of the pandemic, for which he was inactive for 20 months.
The trilogy fight came in October 2021 and Fury knocked him out again, now in the 11th round, to defend his green and gold title.
“It’s a complicated fight, it comes after two knockouts and after little activity. He is a warrior, a boxer with a huge punch and he is hungry,” Sulaiman concluded, “Now you can see the desire to return to being Wilder.”
