Deontay Wilder has been out of the ring since Tyson Fury sealed their trilogy with a fierce knockout in October 2021. His long-term manager, Shelly Finkel, now wants to see him back in the big leagues.
Finkel, a veteran of the game who has worked with the likes of Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao, is back in promotional mode to prepare for ‘The Bronze Bomber’s return. Speaking to The Sun, he provided an update on his fighter and the future.
“He’s getting more attention now than ever before. He’s out in Vegas training and he’s very happy. He’s at the UFC gym training, we’re not exactly sure where the next fight will be yet but I would hope to have that together in the next week or so. I think next week we’ll probably have an agreement and then an announcement.”
With Wilder seemingly ready to step through the ropes once more, many eyes will turn to a bout with fellow heavyweight, Anthony Joshua. A fight between the pair has been a major talking point in the division for years now.
In the time since, both men have lost their world titles. Wilder’s WBC title is now firmly in the hands of Tyson Fury, and the WBA Super, WBO and IBF belts that were once Joshua’s remain draped over Oleksandr Usyk, at least until their rematch. Does the lack of a belt on the line reduce the intrigue of the matchup? Not according to Finkel.
“I believe that fight is enormous even if he loses to Usyk. I don’t know anyone else’s numbers or money, it’s not my business but I heard that the Saudis put up a lot of money for Joshua to fight Usyk over there. So there’s a lot of moving pieces but what I do know is there’s four big names at this point and that is Fury, Usyk, Joshua and Deontay.”
Robert Helenius is in the mix as a potential opponent for Wilder’s next fight. While Joshua will take his chance at revenge on August 20 in a highly-anticipated rematch with Usyk to be fought in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.