Deontay Wilder was of course a most interested observer as Anthony Joshua fought common opponent Robert Helenius. Fans know a Wilder Vs. Joshua showdown is all but done for January in the Middle East (it’s not official yet, and anything could happen, but both fighters really do seem to want the fight; and the Saudi money men were in town over the weekend, in talks with Eddie Hearn) – and Wilder pretty much gave a sigh of relief after AJ got the job done last night.
For a while there, it looked as though AJ might wind up winning a decision over Helenius, a largely dull one at that. But then, in the 7th round, Joshua got himself a nice highlight reel KO that will no doubt be aired over and over as the build-up ahead of the Wilder fight goes into overdrive. Malik Scott, Wilder’s trainer, spoke to October Red, and he spoke about Wilder’s reaction to AJ’s win as well as what’s next for “The Bronze Bomber.”
“He was like, ‘we needed that [KO]’,” Scott said of Wilder. “We both said the same thing because at first it looked like it was getting ready to go the distance, so when the knockout came I called him on FaceTime and he was like, ‘I’m glad he got that, we needed it done just like that.’ So we’re both satisfied, the fight (between Wilder and AJ) is bigger to me than it was because of the knockout, so shoutout to AJ for going out there and getting the job done. Most of all a shoutout to Robert Helenius. It took a lot of courage to get in that ring with real killers especially on short notice.”
Scott said Wilder will now “look for something in October,” as in a tune-up fight ahead of the big one. The guy in the other corner will not be Andy Ruiz, Scott said – “Andy Ruiz doesn’t want to fight Deontay, so we’re looking for someone who really wants to fight and take a chance and unfortunately somebody else who is going to get knocked out.”
“Hopefully we can lock in an opponent and from there we’ll go and knockout AJ in January,” Scott said.
But will Wilder KO Joshua, or will it be the other way around? Someone will get KO’d if these two former heavyweight champions collide in January, and the guaranteed KO will ensure the fight generates huge numbers, both at the live gate and especially on pay-per-view.
Is Joshua still too cautious, too reticent to let his hands go to be able to defeat the lethal hitting Wilder? Or will Wilder’s oft-shown recklessness and all-out burning desire to get the KO work into a patient Joshua’s hands?
Rest assured, there will be plenty more questions asked as this fight inches closer and closer. It needs to happen, and the signs are good that it will happen.
