Deontay Wilder's Next Fight: A Mismatch but Ultimately Acceptable

Boxing’s Alabama hammer is confirmed to drop next month.

Undefeated Tuscaloosa native Deontay Wilder (33-0, 32 KO) will defend his WBC heavyweight title against Eric Molina (23-2, 17 KO) at Bartow Arena in Birmingham, Alabama, on June 13.

At first glance, this title defense against the unheralded Molina reeks of the spineless matchmaking Al Haymon, Wilder’s adviser, has long been criticized for. But context is the key to understanding everything.

This “title fight,” while still a gigantic mismatch, given the numerous factors at hand, is ultimately acceptable and even commendable.

The frame of reference should start with the title-eliminator bout between Alexander Povetkin and Mike Perez on May 22. Wilder is likely to make a mandatory defense against the winner this fall.

Povetkin’s deep resume makes him the sequestered No. 2 heavyweight in the world, per the Transnational Boxing Rankings, despite not holding a championship belt. The power-punching Perez, also rated in the rankings’ top 10, is no slouch either.

Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The fight with Molina is a voluntary title defense. The “Bronze Bomber” didn’t have to fight anyone before the Povetkin-Perez winner. A theoretical divisional ranking aside (BoxRec rates Molina as the No. 44 heavyweight in the world), there is nothing wrong with staying active. The man does fight for living after all.

With a defense all but scheduled for later this year against a more-than-credible opponent, what’s the problem with picking up another paycheck in the meantime?

There isn’t one.

The fight, which is expected to air on Showtime, only helps build Wilder’s brand for bigger fights down the line. One of which, hopefully, is a unification bout with the real heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko.

Most fans, however, are probably upset that the superfight isn’t happening sooner—especially after how vulnerable Klitschko looked last month against Bryant Jennings.

But Wilder isn’t just waiting around for Klitschko to get old—he’d get into the ring with the division’s top dog by the end of the year if it were up to him. It’s Klitschko who has other plans. The Telegraph's Gareth A. Davies reports the Ukrainian heavyweight is entirely focused on fighting one man and one man only at the moment and it isn’t Wilder. 

“Wladimir Klitschko and Tyson Fury is definitely on,” promoter Frank Warren told Davies. “It is now just a question of where and when.”

With the brash Fury getting a crack at Klitschko, the next-best thing for Wilder to do is fight the next-best heavyweight. And that’s Povetkin (or the man who beats him), which is exactly what the WBC champion is doing.

Wilder is also fighting in Alabama for the first time since 2012. While he may stand a mountainous 6’7” in the ring, he stands even taller when it comes to the state’s boxing scene.

The Alabama Athletic Commission, authorized in 2009, issued Wilder its very first license in 2011. Wilder’s second-round knockout of DeAndrey Abron on Feb. 19 was the state’s first sanctioned boxing match. 

When he returns to the ring across from Molina in June, it will mark the first world title fight—in any weight class—ever held in the Heart of Dixie.

The Bronze Bomber takes pride in the opportunity. 

“I can give Alabama its very first title fight in history,” Wilder told D.C. Reeves of the Tuscaloosa News. “And I’m all about making history.”

Wilder became the first American to lift a piece of the heavyweight championship since 2006 with his unanimous-decision victory over Bermane Stiverne in January. 

His encore next month against Molina isn't the needle-mover most fans wanted. But with a looming fight with the Povetkin-Perez winner, a pit stop in Alabama doesn't seem too bad.