Deontay Wilder has sent a blunt warning to Andy Ruiz Jr as the pair continue to try and agree a deal for their WBC heavyweight title eliminator. The World Boxing Council have long ordered the two fighters to face each other but with Wilder more interested in facing Anthony Joshua and Ruiz seduced by talks with Tyson Fury, the fight had originally been put on the back-burner.
However, both fight alternatives never came to pass, with Joshua instead taking on Dillian Whyte and champion Fury preferring to face Francis Nhannou. If either Wilder or Ruiz want another shot at the world title they must meet to decide who will be left as the lone challenger.
Trash talk has resumed and it is Wilder that has fired the latest barb, insisting that should the pair come face-to-face in the ring, it will be Ruiz who will come off worse.
Confirming that the contest needs to be agreed, Wilder said: “With my team, with your team, and now it’s time to put it all together. Who acting scared? It isn’t me. You know, because what y ‘all talk about is unreasonable. Let’s face it, and it is what it is.
“So when you serious, holla at me until then. Do what you do, bro. You got a lot of weight to lose, man. You can talk that talk. But only a few walk that walk. You know what I mean? So if you want to see what a knockout feels like, get your brain splattered. Holla at me, bro. I’m not far.”
Should a deal finally be signed off by both camps, Premier Boxing Champions will host the clash, with Showtime likely to provide the Pay Per View broadcasting platform. Las Vegas is considered the likely destination for the bout once both fighters are on board.
The current sticking point in negotiations appears to be the purse split. According to World Boxing News, Wilder wants 70% but Ruiz’ father Andy Ruiz Sr. believes that his son is worth an even share.
The belief is that if Wilder agrees to bring his share down to 60% that would probably be agreeable to the Ruiz camp and be sufficient to get the fight on. Fans of heavyweight boxing have been starved of genuine headline action this year with a clutch of the divisions top stars struggling to agree on fight deals.
Plans had been afoot for Fury to face Oleksandr Usyk in Saudia Arabia in a huge double headline bill alongside Joshua and Wilder but the chances of that coming to pass look bleak with no further progress known to have been made on negotiations.
That could leave Wilder v Ruiz as the heavyweight fight of the year, with The T-Mobile Arena or the MGM Grand both mooted as possible venues to stage the contest.