KEY POINTS

  • WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman says that Deontay Wilder could return to the ring soon
  • Tyson Fury previously expressed his desire to retire from the sport
  • Sulaiman also notes that they have multiple approaches lined up for all situations

The future of Deontay Wilder has been up in the air after falling to Tyson Fury in their October 2021 trilogy fight, but Wilder could make his return to the ring very soon–provided that Tyson Fury pushes through with his retirement.

World Boxing Council (WBC) president Mauricio Sulaiman said that if Fury does remain committal with his intentions to retire from the sport, Wilder will get the first crack at the vacant heavyweight title.

“Because he is the No 1-ranked contender in the division. I spoke to him a couple of months ago, he is doing great and he is looking forward to resuming his boxing career,” said Sulaiman as quoted by Boxing Scene.

Following his spectacular sixth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte, Fury opened up on the thought of possibly retiring from the sport, which would break open the WBC heavyweight title picture.

Wilder has not been seen or even rumored to be thinking about another match since losing to Fury, but fans of “The Bronze Bomber” will surely be happy with this development in his great career.

For “The Gypsy King,” Sulaiman noted that his next mandatory title defense will be in about a year or so, which opens up the possibility of him fighting again or fully shutting the door on his boxing career and enjoying retirement with his family.

Behind Wilder on the WBC rankings are Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker, who are ranked second and third respectively.

Common knowledge would dictate that Wilder will fight either Joyce or Parker for the potentially vacant WBC heavyweight strap, but they could make things more interesting by having the second and third-ranked boxers fight for the right to face Wilder.

This idea has been floated by Sulaiman himself.

“At this moment, we will wait for the decision of Tyson Fury, and then we will either do a series of fights - a boxing tournament - going into a final elimination, but at this time we're going to wait because we don't know the specific circumstances,” he stated.

“I believe that Joyce and Parker are fighting for the WBO interim championship, but I have not confirmed that. All of the variables may change."

Whatever the case may be, seeing Wilder back in the ring after sustaining two straight losses to his previously unblemished record is going to add a great chapter to his career.

Britain's WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury lands an early punch on the way to an 11th-round knockout of US challenger Deontay Wilder
Britain's WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury lands an early punch on the way to an 11th-round knockout of US challenger Deontay Wilder AFP / Robyn Beck