Wladimir Klitschko's Only Option Is Deontay Wilder After Rout of Bryant Jennings

It might feel like just the residue of a misspent Saturday night.

But as you reach for the bottle of aspirin and ponder the walk of shame, dawn’s inevitable arrival will bring with it an unmistakable boxing reality that feels like it’s had about a century of gestation.

There’s a heavyweight fight out there—at long last—that’s simply got to get made.

It’s time for Wladimir Klitschko to get in a ring with Deontay Wilder.

No offense is intended to the 17 foes against whom the mammoth Ukrainian has now racked up 18 title defenses since beating Chris Byrd in 2006. But the gloved world has finally gotten beyond the point where it’ll mindlessly accept another overmatched American or anonymous European.

And of all the names still out there for a guy undented since 2004, Wilder’s is the one that resonates.

Simply put, the “Bronze Bomber” needs Klitschko for legitimacy.

And just as simply, Klitschko needs the Bronze Bomber for respect.

“All you can do is beat the guys who are around when you’re champ,” HBO’s Max Kellerman said before Klitschko’s justifiably wide decision over previously unbeaten wannabe Bryant Jennings at a nearly sold-out Madison Square Garden—Klitschko's first U.S. appearance since 2008.

“To a certain extent, [Klitschko] suffers from Larry Holmes syndrome. All you can do is beat the guys in front of you, and he’s beaten them thoroughly for a long, long time and really established himself among heavyweight champions.”

Still, now that he’s making a run at reigns established by historical giants like Holmes and Joe Louis, it’s clearly going to take more than Tony Thompsons and Kubrat Pulevs to help Klitschko fully get over.

That point was evidenced by the blase approach taken toward the champion by Kellerman and his broadcast mates. They seemed far more enamored with the wherewithal of the novice challenger than with the superiority of the veteran incumbent who lost seven of 36 rounds across three official scorecards.

Bleacher Report scored it 117-110—or nine rounds to two, with one even.

Kellerman, in fact, was quick to lob the dubious idea of a rematch with Jennings while completely ignoring the specter of Wilder. Meanwhile, Wilder holds the one recognized title belt that Klitschko hasn’t claimed, and he was conveniently in attendance had the HBO team deemed him worthy of any post-fight face time.

Instead, the network cut right to a close-up of its middleweight heartthrob, Gennady Golovkin, who on May 16 will meet a foe (Willie Monroe Jr.) who’s not ranked in Ring Magazine’s divisional top 10 and who has 22 other 160-pounders ahead of him according to the UK-based Independent World Boxing Rankings.

Wilder, meanwhile, is The Ring’s No. 2 contender at heavyweight behind only Alexander Povetkin, whom Klitschko dropped four times in an October 2013 match in Moscow.

It was a missed chance to advocate for the most important heavyweight bout since Lewis-Tyson. Nevertheless, as fans consider the sport’s long-term health in the aftermath of this coming Saturday's fiscal orgy at welterweight, they’ll realize the value big men still hold when it comes to engaging the mainstream.

Love him or loathe him, Klitschko has been the pre-eminent heavyweight for the better part of a decade. And, recognize him or not, Wilder is precisely the sort of flashy, outspoken and well-connected (read: Al Haymon) commodity who’d make it worthwhile for the Ukrainian star to play another American show.

“I know I'm good for the sport,” Wilder told CBSSports.com.

“I know I'm going to be a mega-superstar one day. But I'm not in that moment now. I'm still trying to work my way to it, so I don't want to get a big head or carried away about something that I haven't dwelled in yet. But when it does come, I'll just feel like it's a goal accomplished.”

Once the MayPac curtain is drawn, it sure would be nice if someone found some time for Klitschko-Wilder, too.