By Keith Idec
Deontay Wilder weighed in at a mere 214¾ pounds for his last fight, his lowest weight since he came in at 207½ for his pro debut.
That apparently has made the 6-feet-7 heavyweight champion consider eventually moving down to compete within the cruiserweight division. The unbeaten WBC champ surprisingly discussed that weight switch in a video posted to his Instagram account Wednesday night.
“What’s up, boxing world?,” Wilder said. “You know, I’ve just been sitting in my car, thinking. I’ve been thinking about once I unify the heavyweight division, moving down to the cruiserweight division, taking over that division. I mean, there’s never been a heavyweight champion ever go down in weight. I mean, just for the fun of it, just take over the cruiserweight division while maintaining the heavyweight [championship]. Yeah. What do you guys think?”
The hard-hitting Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) has been a heavyweight throughout a pro career that began in November 2008. Despite his considerable height, the slender Wilder never has weighed in at more than 229 pounds for a fight.
The 32-year-old Wilder was six pounds lighter for his last fight, a 10th-round knockout of Luis Ortiz (28-1, 24 KOs, 2 NC) on March 3 at Brooklyn’s Barclay Center, than he was for his previous outing. The Tuscaloosa, Alabama, native weighed 220¾ pounds for his first-round knockout of Bermane Stiverne (25-3-1, 21 KOs) in their rematch November 4 at Barclays Center.
Ortiz out-weighed Wilder by 26½ pounds. Stiverne was 34 pounds heavier than him.
If the fight Wilder wants most can be made, Wilder would give away at least 20 pounds when he steps into the ring against Anthony Joshua.
The 6-feet-6 Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs), who holds the IBF, IBO and WBA titles, weighed in at 242 pounds for his last bout, a 12-round, unanimous-decision defeat of New Zealand’s Joseph Parker (24-1, 18 KOs) on March 31 in Cardiff, Wales. England’s Joshua officially weighed at least 249 pounds for each of his three previous title defenses.
2023-10-21 03:54:20
