Former WBC heavyweight champ “The Bronze Bomber” Deontay Wilder has been tied to a rumored bout with Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia. In the past, he’s been tied to a pay-per-view clash with former 3-belt champ Andy Ruiz. As of right now, however, he’s not yet signed to face anyone.
With his last bout taking place in October of last year– a first-round blowout of Robert Helenius– the former titlist seems eager to get back into the ring for something big. And, apparently, he’s revisiting the idea of an Andy Ruiz clash.
In a recent interview given to ESNews, Wilder talked about a possible Ruiz bout and clarified some things related to supposed money talks.
“Let’s ask Andy’s dad what was the offer given because we didn’t talk about no money. So how does he know it was a 70-30 offer? I didn’t talk to Andy’s dad about any type of money whatsoever,” Wilder said during an interview at a Boxing Wags Association charity event last Wednesday.
“Andy was only a champion for as long as a blink of an eye. I’m a five-year, ten-title defense champion. There is a difference. What I possess is power. I put people on the edge of their seats every time. People come to see my God-given talent. Now, on the other hand, with Andy – what do we see from him? A short, fat fighter with small [arms] so it makes him look fast – T-Rex – that’s it. You don’t put nobody at the edge of their seat, and ain’t nobody getting excited.
“The only reason this fight will be exciting is because they want to see how fast I will knock him out, and that’s it. I can tell you this, though. Soon you’re going to see [Ruiz become] nonexistent in the boxing world. You’re going to see him on the shelf because he ain’t going to have nobody to fight… Andy is going to be 33 years old, broke, and can’t support his children because his daddy made decisions for him. He should make decisions for himself.”
As for the rumored bout with Anthony Joshua, Wilder is optimistic.
“[The Joshua fight is] looking very promising. I also got other offers as well overseas, and stuff like that. So nobody has got to worry about who I’m fighting because my life is very, very great.
“So don’t worry about who I’m fighting and who I can fight because I can fight anybody in the world. They would love to see me come to their country and come see me in the United States, no matter what.
The KO artist from Tuscaloosa, Alabama would then pivot back to Ruiz.
“Andy, that ain’t so much the case.
“So they really got to think about this in the situation that they’re in. Andy is nowhere compared to me. No levels at all, period. They’re talking about a 50-50. You ain’t nowhere compared to me, bro.
“You were only a champion for a very, very short period of time. You never [successfully] defended it or nothing. So stop that. Like I said, if you miss out on this opportunity, it’ll probably be the last opportunity. You’d better think about it.”
There’s been no official word from either camp regarding the status of any negotiations or whether this Wilder-Ruiz fight is actually even a real thing. There’s no doubt, though, that a bout between the two former heavyweight champs would be a nice, entertaining clash and a big one for the division– especially for the American heavyweight scene.
Fans will just have to wait and see how this Wilder-Ruiz stuff plays out.
