Deontay Wilder enjoyed years as the WBC’s number one ranked heavyweight following his first career defeat to Tyson Fury back in 2020.
That first loss saw him hand over title he had held for almost half a decade to Fury. The Brit then repeated the stoppage result in the trilogy fight with Wilder making it 2-0 after the pair fought to a draw in their very first meeting.
Wilder didn’t fight for one year, returning to the ring in October of 2022 to defeat Robert Helenius in the first round. He was still number one with the sanctioning body at that stage, and even ordered to fight in a final eliminator against then number two, Andy Ruiz Jr.
The two former champions couldn’t reach an agreement and ‘The Bronze Bomber’ sat out until December of last year, keeping the top spot despite inactivity.
His fight with Joseph Parker on The Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia was designed to set up a fight with Anthony Joshua, and WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman had suggested that it could become an eliminator to decide who was to become mandatory challenger for Fury.
Wilder was handily beaten on the night, an in-form Joseph Parker controlling the distance and even hurting the American against the betting odds.
Now, the WBC has updated its rankings and Deontay Wilder has dropped right out of the top five to number eight. Parker’s win sees him at number three behind Frank Sanchez and Anthony Joshua, who beat Otto Wallin on same card in Saudi Arabia.
Wilder has made it clear that his goal is to become two-time heavyweight champion, but with no favourable rankings in the other three sanctioning bodies, he has a big fight ahead of him.