Deontay Wilder vs. Gerald Washington: Fight Time, Date, Live Stream and TV Info

Deontay Wilder will look put injuries behind him and take a step toward title unification on Saturday when he defends his WBC world heavyweight title against Gerald Washington at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.

Wilder last fought in July 2016, stopping Chris Arreola in the eighth round but breaking his right hand and tearing his right bicep in the process. 

Wilder was initially set to face Andrzej Wawrzyk, but it was revealed in January the latter tested positive for the anabolic steroid stanozolol. Washington agreed to take the fight on short notice, but he isn't expected to last long against a presumably healthy and motivated Wilder.

Here's the viewing info for the 12-round heavyweight bout.

Deontay Wilder vs. Gerald Washington Fight Info

When: Saturday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET

Where: Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama

TV: FOX, Sky Sports (UK)

Live Stream: FoxSportsGo, SkySports.com (UK)

Tickets: ScoreBig.com

Deontay Wilder		Gerald Washington
37-0	Record	18-0-1
36 KOs, 97%	KOs	12 KOs, 63%
107	Rounds	78
31	Age	34
6'7"	Height	6'6"
83"	Reach	82"
Orthodox	Stance	Orthodox

The obvious knock against Wilder, despite his undefeated status and impressive knockout record, is that he's hardly challenged himself in his career. He slugged his way to the top by taking on and pulverizing mostly anonymous, listless opposition.

Though he has defeated the likes of Bermane Stiverne, Artur Szpilka, Eric Molina and Arreola in recent years, fans are waiting for him to take on the truly elite fighters in the heavyweight ranks.

To their credit, Wilder's camp insists that Saturday's bout will springboard him to the big fights.

"This is the year," said Jay Deas, Wilder's manager and trainer, per AL.com's Drew Champlin. "We have been patient beyond what anybody should be. We've said this is the year. We're calling this fight 'Step one to unification.'"

Washington (or Wawrzyk) isn't at that level of championship competition, but it does make sense for Wilder to get some ring time in coming off injuries that saw him fight one-handed for several rounds against Arreola. 

"Everything is feeling really great right now, but the real test will be when I get into the ring," Wilder said, per Yahoo Sports' Kevin Iole. "We'll see if I'm 100 percent. I've been giving it my all in training camp and we'll really see how it holds up when my fist hits his face."

If Wilder is worried about his hand holding up to repeated striking, he might find comfort in that the fight isn't expected to last very long. According to OddsShark.com, Wilder is a 1-20 favorite over Washington. The 34-year-old former USC football player hasn't been knocked down in his career, but Wilder has plenty of power in both his left and right hands. Plus, taking a fight with little advance notice is never easy. Washington will have his work cut out for him.

A wild, hard hitting puncher early on, Bad Left Hook's Scott Christ noted that the Bronze Bomber has honed his craft in recent years:

"

Wilder has developed his game, sharpened his tools, and become a solid fighter. He's not going to make anyone forget Muhammad Ali or George Foreman or anything, and I don't think he'll ever be elite elite — as in, he'll never stand out as among the best pound-for-pound in the sport — but he's certainly a credible top heavyweight in today's field, which for all the talk in 2015 of a resurgent division, pretty much sank again in 2016 with Tyson Fury's absence and the way Wilder and Joshua pretty much were left to tread water, especially with Wilder's fight against Alexander Povetkin falling apart due to Povetkin's drug test issues.

"

There's little reason for Wilder to finesse this fight or try to bank a few rounds of action. He should show that his right hand, which he has broken three times in his career, per Champlin, is fully capable of detonating on an opponent's jaw. 

Any hesitancy might not spell doom for this particular fight, but it might give his camp pause before he takes on the likes of Anthony Joshua or Joseph Parker.

Washington will have to try to draw out Wilder, make him test both hands and, of course, block the big blows if he wants to survive in this fight and perhaps pull off an upset. But Wilder has big goals in front of him now, and health permitting, he might finally be on his way to truly challenging himself and the others that claim to be the top heavyweight working today.