Can Deontay Wilder Become More Than Just America's Heavyweight Titleholder?

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (34-0-0, 33 knockouts) has high hopes. The 29-year-old from Alabama doesn’t just want to be good. He doesn’t even just want to be great.

Wilder wants to be the best. Ever.

“I say I want to be the biggest superstar that there has ever been in boxing history,” Wilder told Bleacher Report. “I got a lot of work to do and those are big shoes to fill, but I got big feet and I think I can wear them. I’m ready for it. I’m ready to take over the world.”

For Wilder to achieve his lofty goal, he’ll need to do several things. He’ll need to stay active, win bouts, improve as a fighter and eventually dethrone lineal heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko.

That’s just the beginning.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

But Wilder said a fight against Klitschko was “maybe a year off or so,” so he’s sticking to the first three items for now. The rest will come when it comes.

“We need to start talking about [the Klitschko fight] now, because I’m not going to lose. And I don’t see him losing. This fight is definitely going to happen.”

I get the impression that if it was up to only Wilder, he’d fight Klitschko next week. In fact, last time I talked to Wilder, he seemed intent on fighting Klitschko by the end of 2015.

But cooler heads on both sides of the equation seem to be prevailing for now. Klitschko will face the undefeated Tyson Fury on October 24 in Dusseldorf, Germany. According to RingTV.com, Wilder is set to defend his belt September 26 against an opponent to be named. NBC will televise the bout.

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Wilder said his next fight would be another voluntary defense of his WBC title. That means it could be anyone rated in the top 15 of the WBC’s heavyweight rankings.

In his last fight, he defeated Eric Molina by ninth-round stoppage in front of a raucous home-state Alabama crowd. Wilder called the experience the best he’s had as a professional.

“Man, it was like Ric Flair. Woo!”

Wilder said the sellout crowd was electric. He said the crowd was cheering for every punch landed in ways he had not experienced before.

“It’s always a great feeling when you can go back home and go to where your heart is and bring a sport that’s not well-known there and be able to pack it out. It’s wonderful. I’m ready to do it again. The atmosphere was the all-time best of my career.”

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press/Associated Press

Many pundits thought Wilder would easily dispose of Molina well before Round 9. However, Wilder said he was prepared for Molina to fight his heart out. He said the Texan’s effort vindicated his selection as an opponent.

“I wasn’t surprised at all. If you go back...I told people it would be a good fight and that it would be tough. He was going to come and fight. People have to understand when you’re fighting for a world title, it’s like ‘I got this opportunity to get out of poverty. I got this opportunity to support my family.’ When you’re fighting for that with those stakes on the line, what are you gonna do? Are you going to just lie down and say, ‘Well, I fought for the title’ or are you going to actually fight? This guy actually fought.”

Wilder is no stranger to the boo birds. While he is probably the most celebrated American heavyweight since Evander Holyfield, his slow march up the ranks after capturing Olympic bronze in 2008 has been oft-criticized.

By the time he was set to meet Bermane Stiverne earlier this year for the WBC heavyweight title, many were left wondering if he was put in too soft to beat a fighter of Stiverne’s caliber.

But Wilder showed his quality. He stabbed Stiverne with a long jab and lit him up enough with his deadly right hand to win a unanimous decision. It was the best win of his career.

“It was a good feeling for me. Throughout my life, I’ve been proving people wrong. When they say I can’t do something, I always come out and prove them wrong. That goes back to my Olympic days when they said I would never make it because I started too late, I was from Alabama and different things like that.”

Wilder doesn’t let the criticism define him. Rather, it drives him forward.

“It’s a great feeling when you can prove people wrong. But you’re not going to be able to please everybody. It’s a big world, and I understand that. You can fight King Kong and some people still won’t be happy. They’ll say that King Kong is too old. Or he looked tired. Or anything like that. So you just have to go out, get the win and hope they like the next one.”

The heavyweight who might best compare to King Kong right now is Klitschko. And Wilder has work to do before climbing up that tall building to tangle with someone like that.

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press/Associated Press

Until that day comes, Wilder said he’d keep himself busy with voluntary and mandatory title defenses. Should he win in September, he said he would expect to face Alexander Povetkin before the end of the year.

Povetkin is the mandatory challenger to Wilder’s WBC title. He'd also be the best fighter Wilder has ever faced, a perfect segue to a bout against Klitschko. 

But Wilder said no matter how long it takes or whom he has to face between now and then, he expects to fight Klitschko in a unification bout in the future. His prediction for his career, which coincides with his desire to become the best superstar fighter ever, is audacious in its stark simplicity.

“I don’t see myself losing. I don’t see anybody beating me.”

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes and information was obtained firsthand.