Negotiations between Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr look on the brink of collapse due to a disagreement over the financials – and Wilder is not happy.
Following some positive steps for an early September bout between the WBC’s number one and two ranked heavyweights, Ruiz Jr’s father gave an interview in which he said his son was being lowballed.
It puts a strain on a fight that was already under extreme time pressure, but Wilder isn’t accepting the claims. He spoke to ES News about the situation.
“Let’s ask Andy’s dad what was the offer given? Because we ain’t talked about no money so how does he know it was a 70/30 offer?”
Wilder – who held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to early 2020 – then went on a tirade against Ruiz himself.
The power puncher from Alabama claims he is the only exciting half of the match-up and that Ruiz’s attributes bring nothing to the table. He warned him he was pricing himself not just out of the fight, but out of the sport entire.
“And another thing, me and Andy are two different people. Andy was only a champion for as long as a blink of an eye. I’m a five-year, ten-title defence champion. It’s a difference! What I possess is power. I put people on the edge of their seats every time. So I don’t need belts to fight, because people come to see my God given talent.
“Now on the other hand, Andy, what are we seeing from him? A short, fat fighter. With small hands so they make him look fast. T-Rex. That’s it. You ain’t putting nobody on the edge of their seat. Ain’t nobody getting excited. Only reason anybody want to see this fight is because the wanna see how fast I would knock him out.
I can tell you this, soon you gonna see him non-existent in the boxing world. You gonna see him on the shelf. Because he ain’t gonna have nobody to fight.”
It’s unclear if Wilder will fight within the same timeframe should the Ruiz talks indeed fail. It’s well known that he’s looking to face Anthony Joshua this winter in Saudi Arabia, so another opponent must be found quickly if so.