Eddie Hearn on Wilder/Ortiz 2 and Wilder/Fury 2
When reviewing their track record, it can easily be said that Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing is no huge fan of Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KO’s). For the last several years Hearn has tried to pen a fight against Wilder with his two fighters Anthony “AJ” Joshua (22-1, 21 KO’s) and Dillian “Body Snatcher” Whyte (26-1, 18 KO’s) with no great success.
A RIVALS RAVE REVIEWS
Frequently throughout these on-going dealings, both sides have thrown ample shade on the other. On numerous occasions, Wilder has flat-out called Hearn a liar and stated that he can’t stand the man. Hearn has poured salt on a few of Wilders bouts and claimed he would use the new WBC ‘franchise champion’ belt to evade tough fights.
“Easier fight this time around […] it’s a decent fight, it’s not a bad fight. The first one was a good fight, I just think that Deontay will deal with him [Luis Ortiz] inside four rounds.” ~Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Boxing
Even with their acidic history, Eddie Hearn is tabbing the Bronze Bomber to be victorious this weekend over the crafty and dangerous Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (31-1, 26 KO’s). Not only that, Hearn also believes that Wilder will then follow with toppling Fury in their upcoming rematch.
According to Eddie Hearn’s speculation, both dust-ups will be much easier for Wilder and both should end in thrilling knockouts. If that was the case, it would potentially reopen the doors to begin talks of Wilder v Joshua, or Wilder v Whyte.
“I think actually Wilder wins that, the [Fury] rematch…I think he’ll be less cautious, I think he’ll know he’s got the power to hurt him and I think he’ll be a little more reckless. Wilder is at his most dangerous when he’s reckless. But you can’t be reckless against a good fighter, that’s the problem.
[…] I think he’s going to come out and try to hurt him early whereas he really didn’t in the first fight. And he’s been in there with Fury now, Fury is very unpredictable, he’s very tricky. But once you’ve shared a ring with him you might start figuring him out.”
THE BATTLE FOR POSITION
In Joshua’s case, like the WBC world heavyweight champion, AJ must first win his own rematch with unified world heavyweight champion Andy “Destroyer” Ruiz Jr (33-1, 22 KO’s). The two big men will lock horns on December 7 in Saudi Arabia.
Ruiz Jr flipped Joshua’s career on its head this past June 1 when he stopped him and absconded with his WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO titles. Another loss for AJ could arguably leave his career and reputation in shambles.
As far as Dillian Whyte goes, he still needs to publicly rectify his situation with UKAD. In the month of July, Whyte was flagged for an adverse finding by UKAD ahead of his prizefight with Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (26-1, 18 KO’s). Despite being cleared to fight the matter has oddly, and suspiciously, lingered on without resolution for months.
Since there has been no official conclusion in this curious matter the WBC suspended the Body Snatchers mandatory status. Whyte had formally achieved the designation with his win over Rivas. However, the WBC declared that until the banned drug scandal finalizes, and Whyte proves to be innocent, he will not get a shot at Wilder.
By: Bakari Simpson
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