On October 15 in New York, we will see, in the words of former WBC heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder, “the return of the king.” Wilder will, as fans know, face former sparring partner Robert Helenius in his first fight back after losing heroically to Tyson Fury in the third (and final?) fight of their rivalry. And Wilder has made his plans clear for after the Helenius fight – “I’m going straight for the titles,” Wilder said when speaking with Morning Kombat.
Wilder, who celebrates his 37th birthday on October 22, says he has three years left before he will retire, and that during this period he aims to have anywhere from six to nine fights before he walks away. Financially sound according to himself, Wilder says he doesn’t need to fight on, that he is doing so to give the fans “nothing but great fights.” And Wilder wants WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight ruler Usyk next.
“I’m going straight for the titles. I hear that Oleksandr Usyk will be at the fight and I also hear that if Robert Helenius wins he is mandatory challenger for that belt,” Wilder said. “Usyk is talking about fighting the winner of this fight and on the outside looking in I like him as a person and I value that, so I hope he is a man of his word and wants to face the winner. Hopefully he is a man of his word and when I look through him I see Wilder versus Usyk for the winner of all the belts. Most of the time in my career I have always been the one to bless fighters with a title shot so it’s nice to be on the other side. I had to fight through anything and everything to get here and if so then that is a great fight with Usyk but I’m not looking past Helenius.”
If Wilder does do as most people feel he will and beats Helenius, a Wilder-Usyk fight could become a quite fascinating promotion, maybe resulting in a great fight. A classic Boxer Vs. Puncher match-up, this one would very possibly be don’t-blink material. One punch from Wilder, and any fight he is in can be over. Usyk, on the other hand, has perhaps the highest boxing IQ of any active heavyweight. Again, it’s a fascinating match-up.
And if Wilder was to beat Usyk, to become a two-time heavyweight champion who could boast the fact that he won all four belts during his career, then just maybe he would he Hall of Fame material himself. This honour, Wilder raised eyebrows by saying a while back he has already earned, would perhaps be his if he had a KO win over Usyk on his resume.
In the meantime, however, Wilder has tall Finn Helenius to take care of. For some people, the October 15 fight has potential banana skin written all over it!
