It has been reported that the famed Deontay "Bronze Bomber" Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) is poised to compete for the 224-pound super welterweight (bridgeweight) title and become the second division World Title. To that end, the WBC made a point of emphasizing that Wilder could give the green light to directly sanction a challenge for WBC super welterweight champion Lawrence O'Koli (20-1, 15 KOs), and that O'Koli is desperate for the fight.
Right now, Wild is at a low point in his career, having lost to Joseph Parker last December and was knocked out by "Big Bang" Zhang Zhilei last month, falling into a desperate situation of two straight defeats. Since Wilder said before facing Zhang Zhilei that if he loses, he will retire from boxing, considering his age, state, and situation, it is generally believed that Wilder has reached the time to understand the gloves.
Wilder's fans naturally want him to keep fighting, and with back-to-back key bouts already on the losing streak, Wilder seems to have lost room to break through in the heavyweight division, so adjusting his weight to 224 pounds would be ideal. However, this week's update suggests that Wilder's challenge for 224-pound champion O'Koli is out of play, and according to World Boxing News, the WBC has decided to arrange for Okoli to make a mandatory title defense against WBC interim super welterweight champion Kevin Lereina (30-3, 14 KOs), according to World Boxing News.
At first, Wild's co-agent, Shirley Finkel, speculated that Wild wouldn't adjust his weight to 224 pounds, but it did. WBC President Mauricio Suleiman told the media that they had originally opened a small window for Wild, but unfortunately without receiving a response, WBC decided not to wait.
In fact, at the same time that the WBC allowed Wild to challenge Okoli in an exceptional way, Okoli had already entered into free negotiations with Lerena, who was the forced challenger, and it was nothing more than that the WBC felt that as long as Wild was willing, they could let Lereina take a break, thus facilitating the Wild vs Okoli fight.
Now, Wilder has quietly rejected the WBC, and O'Koli and Lerena have also completed free talks, so Wilder is still in doubt about whether he can return to boxing.
Suleiman said: "The WBC has canceled the open bid for the Okoli vs Lerena battle because the two sides are close to reaching an agreement. ”
According to sources, the British organizers were very much looking forward to the Okoli vs Wild match, and they thought that if the match was finalized, it would be easy to sell an arena short, and there were even rumors that the Okoli vs Wild match did not rule out the mat match for the Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois battle on September 21, but unfortunately there is no point in talking about these now.
Wilder is 38 years old and will turn 39 in three months, and with a net worth of eight figures, it is generally believed that there is no need for Wild to go on stage and fight again, unless there is a lot of money on the table. Now, the paradox of Wilder is that his chances of making a lot of money are slimmer and slimmer with back-to-back losses, and at the same time, he doesn't bother to complete small fights, so he has to settle down on whether or not to retire, which is what Wilder needs to solve, so when he thinks about it, fans will naturally see the final result.