Former WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has been called out for a long-awaited showdown with one rival in particular.
The 40-year-old from Alabama made his return to action on June 27 when he stopped countryman Tyrrell Herndon in the seventh round of their non-title bout at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
Wilder had been on a disappointing run of form prior to his clash with Herndon, suffering back-to-back defeats to former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and the hard-hitting Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang.
As he gears up to make his 50th ring appearance, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has been called out for a domestic battle with former unified world heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr.
In a recent interview with Covers, Ruiz was asked to reel off some fighters that he would be interested in facing in the future, as he reveals he would be open to a bout with Wilder after years of speculation.
“[Oleksandr] Usyk, Tyson Fury, [Anthony] Joshua, and [Deontay] Wilder for sure – four of them. Those are the big names … I know they still underestimate this chubby little man, this chubby Mexican man.”
Ruiz pulled off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history back in June of 2019 when he stopped Anthony Joshua in the seventh round of their bout at Madison Square Garden in New York City, capturing the unified WBA, WBO and IBF world heavyweight titles in the process.
He would go on to lose those belts in the rematch with Joshua, and the 36-year-old from California has recently been recovering from an injury that he sustained to his hand during his clash with Jarrell Miller in August 2024.
He is expected to make his return to action in the early stages of next year, and says linking back up with trainer Manny Robles, who was in the corner for the ‘AJ’ fight, will allow him to ‘make history again.’
