On January 17, Deontay Wilder, became the first American in seven years to hold a piece of the heavyweight boxing world championship when he took the WBC title from Haitian-Canadian Bermane Stiverne in a 12-round unanimous decision in Las Vegas.
Before the fight, some wondered if Wilder had the stamina to go the distance; his previous 32 fights had ended by knockout, none later than the fourth round.
He dominated the fight and had no trouble going 12 rounds as he solidified his status as the new star in American boxing, at the age of 29.
He is the first undefeated American to win a heavyweight title since Michael Moorer in 1994, which seems aeons ago to US fight fans, who became accustomed in the 20th century for the most prominent championship to be held by one of their own – from Jack Johnson and Jack Dempsey to Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.
The obvious question is this: can Wilder end the long reign of Wladimir Klitschko, the towering Ukrainian – unbeaten in 10 years – who is widely considered the “real” heavyweight champion by boxing fans.
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Wilder said his hope is to defend the WBC title against British WBO champion Tyson Fury and later this year unify the heavyweight title in a fight with Klitschko.
“That’s what I would love to do,” Wilder said. “Let’s wait and see how I recover. I think I need four to five weeks recovery as I hurt my right hand in the fourth round of the fight against Steverne and my left eye before the fight, in training.
“I know Tyson Fury has been calling me out on Twitter and Klitschko has said he wants to fight me next. I’ll take both of them and keep proving all my critics wrong; they said I can’t take a punch.
“I have a lot of respect for both of them as boxers. Both fights would be huge fights, but I am here to stay at the top. Who I will be fighting next, we will make the decision after I meet with my team.”
The most prominent person in Wilder’s camp is Al Haymon, who is thought to be in negotiations with Fury, but the latter has expressed his desire to meet Klitschko next.
Both have the size to go eye-to-eye with Klitschko, whose height, 1.98-metres, has proven an advantage against shorter boxers: Wilder is 2.01m, Fury is taller at 2.06m.
Wilder was a standout in American football, basketball and athletics, at his high school in the southern US state of Alabama.
He decided to focus on boxing and won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics; no American has won an Olympic boxing medal since.
“I am really grateful for all the support the fans and everyone have shown me since winning the title,” he said.
“The buzz and the press have been showing a lot of interest in me lately. It’s been non-stop interviews on TV, radio and the papers.
“But I’m keeping my feet on the ground; these things don’t distract me. I feel like I’m kind of used to such exposure, its just the beginning now.”
Wilder said he would be interested in fighting in Dubai.
“Man, I’ve heard so much about Dubai,” he said. “I’ll be visiting soon with my family for vacation. I want to thank all my fans in Dubai and the Middle East for supporting me. I really appreciate it and I hope to see you soon there.
“I love travelling and I am very interested in fighting in Dubai. If an offer is made, then why not? I think it’s a perfect location. It has everything and could be a top boxing spot if they put the money into the sport of boxing there.
“I’ve heard about Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the news wanting to host big fights. I hope they do, because it is great for the sport of boxing to be organised and supported around the world.”
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