The March 15th clash between 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Deontay Wilder and Malik Scott was already widely anticipated by many American heavyweight boxing fans, signalling as it did another step up and forward for Wilder. Now the pot is even richer, as the WBC has announced that the fight is an eliminator for their #1 contender’s slot, and with that, a mandatory challenge for their green strap.
Or that is certainly the picture the WBC and Team Wilder would like to present. The more skeptical and cynical view is also a wider one, recalling as it does that the man holding that green strap will be the winner of the ridiculous rematch between Bermane Stiverne and Chris Arreola. It also begs the question of how a fight between Wilder, the WBC #3 heavyweight, and the #26-ranked Scott (!!) can be seriously called a title shot eliminator.
Let’s look at the names the WBC had to ignore to drop this gift on Wilder: Bryant Jennings; Manuel Charr; Dereck Chisora; Tyson Fury; Tomasz Adamek; Odlanier Solis; Fres Oquendo; Artur Szpilka; Tony Thompson; Seth Mitchell; and Alexander Dimitrenko. And those are only the recognizable names! Certainly, nobody would argue that both Wilder and Scott are more deserving than say, Fres Oquendo, but that doesn’t say much, either.
[ProBoxing-Fans.com has Wilder ranked at #5, and Scott outside of the top 10].
Now, don’t get me wrong. Wilder will probably beat Scott, so I doubt we’ll be visited by the dull anti-spectacle of, say, Stiverne vs. Scott for the WBC title. Also, whoever wins Stiverne vs. Arreola II, I’m looking forward to seeing Wilder beat them. However, I can’t help but wonder if anyone at the WBC cares how devaluing it is for their heavyweight title, after all the menacing luster Vitali Klitschko and Lennox Lewis put on it, to have its near-term future drawn out by a rematch that should never have happened and a fight matching a prospect against a journeyman.
Of course, this is also part of the aftermath of what happens once somebody such as Vitali Klitschko leaves the sport. And with scintillating matches like Stiverne vs. Arreola II determining “championship” status in the division, it may not be long before fans are reminiscing quite fondly of Klitschko.
