As fans know, it’s now well over a year since Deontay Wilder had a fight. And when he did last lace ’em up, Wilder lost. Badly. Since February of 2020 and that painful night in Las Vegas with Tyson Fury, Wilder has all but disappeared, surfacing only to give the occasional bizarre interview, during which the former WBC heavyweight champ has come out with some, well, bizarre statements (you know: Mark Breland spiked his water, Fury had an egg weight or something in one of his gloves, the referee was against him, and plenty more craziness).
The long layoff, along with the bizarre statements, have a good many people worried and concerned about Wilder’s mental health, and plenty of people are seriously wondering if the 35-year-old will ever fight again.
But Wilder has remained on everyone’s lips and he sure has no shortage of potential fights should he decide to come back (as he said he would do, by late Jan or early Feb, only for that to fall by the wayside).
In fact, aside from the big two, Fury and Anthony Joshua, it could be that Wilder is the most talked-about heavyweight fighter today. Case in point: Dillian Whyte has a big and important fight tomorrow night against Alexander Povetkin, this a must-win fight Whyte’s very career cannot afford to let slip.
Yet already, people are talking about a Whyte-Wilder fight. A panel of Sky Sports pundits has made it clear that the fight many, many people want, is Whyte Vs. Wilder (Whyte hasn’t even got revenge over Povetkin yet, but people like Carl Froch, Adam Smith, and Andy Clarke are saying how they would love to see Whyte fight Wilder.
Eddie Hearn has of course wanted to make this fight for years. Also making it clear there is a strong desire in many quarters to see Wilder back in a big fight, is the talk that has been going around regarding the possibility of “The Bronze Bomber” fighting Andy Ruiz later this year.
Ruiz, like Whyte, has business to attend to before he can even think about any other fight or fights, this his own must-win return, against Chris Arreola.
Yet all over the place, fans and experts are seemingly salivating over the idea of Wilder getting it on with Whyte and/or Ruiz. It really could prove to be one of the most-watched, most heavily covered comebacks launched by a former heavyweight champion if Wilder did return to the ring. Can you name a bigger heavyweight comeback from the past ten years or so?
In short, almost everyone wants to see Wilder back in action. Despite the bad things, the nasty things, Wilder has said, mostly about Fury – or maybe because of them – the gunslinger from Alabama is still one of the hottest fighters in the world today.
Wilder has had a ton of ink devoted to him, this despite his 13 months out (and counting). If Wilder does come back, he seemingly has his pick of big and fan-friendly match-ups to choose from – be it Whyte, Ruiz, or, another name that has popped up, Charles Martin.
And if he can come back and score one big highlight reel KO win, Wilder will be right back in the mix. Wilder, despite his loss to Fury, has a genuine mystique about him. He really is the exciting, big-hitting yet vulnerable fighter who is on the minds of many people who seem to absolutely crave seeing him get back.
Can Wilder rise again? There will be millions of fans watching to see if he can should he launch his comeback. Has Wilder been biding his time, or will those people who seem to desperately want him back wind up being disappointed? Just what are Wilder’s thoughts right now?
