Despite beating Ortiz, Deontay Wilder won't get the respect he deserves until he fights Anthony Joshua

Deontay Wilder’s exciting victory over Luis Ortiz to retain the WBC heavyweight title in Brooklyn this past Saturday only seemed to prove one thing for certain: that in the eyes of most boxing fans, there really isn’t much the American can actually do to prove himself.

Wilder went 32-0 without once ever being taken the distance, leading to questions regarding his stamina. He outclassed Bermane Stiverne in Las Vegas three years ago over 12 rounds to end that and claim the world title he holds to this day, and doubts remained over the quality of his opponents.

Bigger fights continued to elude him – including Ortiz himself, courtesy of a testing violation – until this past weekend, and now those who were branding Wilder ‘untested’ are rubbishing his credentials because Ortiz had him in deep water, only for the champ to rally and go 40-0 with a crushing 10th-round stoppage.

It makes you wonder: what exactly is a ‘test’ in the eyes of this vocal pocket of the fight sport audience? Isn’t a scenario like this last bout exactly what they wanted to see Wilder in – and emerge victorious from – if they were to endorse him as a top fighter?

It’s similar to the issue facing Anthony Joshua, in fact. While AJ’s win over Wladimir Klitschko minted him as a superstar in the eyes of the majority, there remained that portion of ‘diehard’ fans who declared that the trouble Joshua experienced in the middle of the fight after being knocked down by the man who dominated the division for a decade was a sign of incurable weakness.

And yes, these same viewers were labelling him ‘untested’ all the way up to the Wlad fight. A couple even had the stones to claim he would never be as good as someone like Lennox Lewis. Yes, that same Lennox Lewis who was knocked down by such all-time greats as Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, only he didn’t pick himself up and win those very same fights.

I guess some people will forever think that the past is way cooler than the present day. It’s a pretty common condition. As is the misconception that constantly criticising things without a single constructive element makes one sound knowledgable, like they have higher viewing standards than the average fan.

Meanwhile, in the real world, it’s no secret that the heavyweight division has struggled with mainstream acceptance for sometime. Dominant as they were, the Klitschko brothers turned audiences away while Britain and the United States were put off by their rare lack of credible contenders in a generally light field.

Monotony

Tyson Fury’s win over Wlad cracked the monotony wide open, and AJ’s thrilling victory 18 months later proved that there is more than just one fighter who can succeed the Ukrainian duopoly. But Joshua and Wilder’s big wins over the last 12 months haven’t quite guaranteed that a bunch of old duffers will be claiming in 2041 that the latest heavyweight prospect couldn’t hold a candle to the AJs and the Deontays.

If Joshua passes his test on March 31 against Joseph Parker and adds another heavyweight title to his collection, that’ll leave Wilder’s on his hitlist. And the megafight the entire division appears to be headed for isn’t just for all the belts, it’s for acceptance in a time where heavyweights aren’t guaranteed to be the most respected and sought-after fighters.

It’s rather poignant that Joshua and Wilder will only completely win over the critics by going through the other. Only one of them will get the respect both of them have already earned. In a way, it’s an awesome added level of suspense for a title fight. It’ll add a whole new dimension to the ‘winner takes all’ concept.

And are we likely to see the fight? I think so. Both fighter’s representatives are talking their fair share, accusing the others of stalling and all the usual tactics. In reality, they’re playing the long game for a clash they know can make a lot of money with the right build-up.

Deontay Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, made a statement at the weekend with regards to claims over who is “ducking” whom.

“What I want to address and try to put to bed once and for all is this Joshua fallacy,” Finkel said.

“The fallacy is that Deontay, in some fashion, is avoiding Joshua.

“I have a letter here that is dated November 29. It was the evening of the day that I met with Eddie Hearn’s father, Barry Hearn.

“He said at the meeting, ‘I think we could do bigger business in Las Vegas because I could bring over 20,000 Brits who will spend more money just like they did for Ricky Hatton’.

“I said ‘fine, put the numbers together. We’re ready to make a deal’.

“I got a letter, and I will quote it from Eddie.

Chinwag

“‘Glad you had a good chinwag with the old man’ – you know that came from him, that’s not language we speak here.

“‘I will get the respective profits and losses to you this week for discussion’, meaning what we would make in the UK versus what we would make in the US.

“‘All the best, Eddie’. That was November 29. I have never heard from him since.

“The bottom line is, if someone wants a fight, it gets made.”

How true was all of that? Who knows?

There’s only one part we can all agree is as true as it gets, and that’s the final part. If someone wants a fight, it gets made.

I believe AJ and Wilder both want the fight. They need the fight. Only one of them can put their name in the same breath as the revered heavyweight champions of yesteryear who, just like these two gentlemen, had their fair share of critics while active combatants.

Their handlers – both sets of promoters, not one – are going to go back and forth until both the Ortiz and Parker hurdles are overcome and the pre-fight buzz is at an acceptable level for them to ‘smell the money’, so to speak. The first of those three criteria has been met. Now onto March 31.