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Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder is pleased with the recent news that unified champion Oleksandr Usyk would be ringside next month at Barclays Center in Brooklyn – where Wilder will return to the ring against Robert Helenius.
Wilder will return for the first time since getting stopped by Tyson Fury in their sensational trilogy bout last October in Las Vegas.
Last month in Saudi Arabia, Usyk picked up a twelve round decision win in his rematch with Anthony Joshua to retain the WBO, IBF, IBO and WBA titles.
In a recent interview, Usyk revealed that he plans to be ringside for Wilder’s return – with an eye on facing the winner.
Wilder is hoping that Usyk will back up his talk with in-ring action.
“I heard about the Usyk situation and he’s going to be there. I hold Usyk to be a man of his word,” Wilder said to Sky Sports.
“If Usyk’s saying he wants to give me an opportunity for the titles then that’s what I’m holding his word to. I always tell people that I don’t look past fighters but I do look through them, there’s nothing wrong with that, being confident in yourself and looking ahead once this chapter is closed.
“I’ve got to handle business at the end of the day. Without handling business then nothing else is moving forward. I’m taking it one fight at a time. I’m taking it all in one day at a time. Once I’ve accomplished and finished what I have to do with Robert then I’ll move on and I’ll be looking forward to the next challenge, whether it’s Usyk or whether it’s anybody else.”
Usyk is planning to stage his next fight in the first quarter of 2023.
Wilder’s fight with Helenius is a WBC semi-eliminator. The winner would be in line to face former unified champion Andy Ruiz in a final eliminator – and the overall victor would secure a mandatory crack at the current WBC world champion, which is Fury.