Deontay Wilder is one step closer to a fourth fight with Tyson Fury as the WBC have ordered him to fight Andy Ruiz Jr in a final eliminator for the Brit's heavyweight title.
Wilder, 37, has been ordered to fight Ruiz following his knockout win against former sparring Robert Helenius last month. It marked Wilder's first fight in over a year as the former champion dispatched Helenius with ease in the first round, whilst Ruiz was last in action in September when he won a hard-fought decision over Luis Ortiz.
The fight between Wilder and Ruiz will produce the next mandatory challenger for Fury's WBC title, which he is set to defend against former foe Derek Chisora on December 3 in London, whom he has already beaten twice. 'The Gypsy King' retired from boxing gloves after knocking out Dillian Whyte in April, but backtracked on the decision months later by trying to negotiate a fight with Anthony Joshua. Negotiations for the fight broke down and Fury opted to face Chisora for the third time instead.
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Fury first fought Wilder in 2018, with many fans fearing the step-up in competition was too soon for the Brit having only won fights against Sefer Seferi and Francisco Pianeta following a near three-year absence from the ring. The pair fought to a controversial draw, but just over a year later Fury put on a decisive performance in their rematch to clinch's Wilder WBC belt by way of a seventh-round stoppage.
Their trilogy fight last October went on to be one of greatest heavyweight title fights in recent history, with Fury getting his hand raised in a fight that contained five knockdowns. Reflecting on their epic third encounter, Fury recently admitted he suffered short-term memory loss after the final bell.
“A fighter needs to know when their time is up and mine is near,” Fury said in his autobiography ‘Gloves Off’. I even experienced short-term memory loss following that bruising encounter with Wilder in 2021, when, in the hours after the win, my head covered in tennis ball-sized lumps, it was impossible to remember how many times I’d gone down. Everything was foggy, and the experience frightened me."
Wilder pondered retirement after his second loss to Fury, but ultimately decided against the decision whilst insisting that boxing needs American champions to survive. 'The Bronze Bomber' has expressed his desire to win the WBC title he once defended 10 times, but he will first need to beat Ruiz Jr to have any chance of reclaiming his belt.
