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By Keith Idec
NEW YORK – Deontay Wilder needed the Floyd Mayweather map for superstarom and unprecedented wealth for a professional athlete.
Wilder did not predict Tuesday that he would overshadow Mayweather's winnings. According to the WBC heavyweight champion, his advisor, Al Haymon, and Stephen Espinoza, of Showtime, have proven themselves in building a superstar among American boxing fans.
Wilder continues to seriously consider the appealing offers of John Skipper of DAZN and Bob Arum's Top Rank / ESPN. In the end, Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KO's) became convinced that working with the same team that had helped make Mayweather a known name could do the same for a huge heavyweight champion who knocked out almost all his opponents.
The native of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, said at a press conference Tuesday that Showtime would broadcast its May 18 battle against Dominic Breazeale (20-1, 18 KO's) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where the competition was also held. press conference. Prior to this unannounced announcement, it was commonly accepted that the Wilder-Breazeale warring bout would be distributed a la carte by FOX or Showtime.
"You have to watch Floyd – he's a little fighter," Wilder told a group of reporters after the press conference. "And if you could do what he did, being a little fighter, as I said, people do not want to sit around for 12 rounds now." I did a lot of fighting and saw people get nervous, and a lot of people can not wait until it's just over, like that, you know what I mean, they do not want to see 12-round fights, but they're going to pay for it because of their love and their pbadion for boxing.
"Floyd arrived at the right moment of his career because he was overshadowed by the heavyweight division. They say that when the heavyweight division falls, everything else does the same. But that gave him the opportunity to get up. That's how he had to [Oscar] From La Hoya [in May 2007]. The universe worked for him. It was a moment, and when he had this opportunity, he removed it. He was with the right people who knew how to lead him where he needed to be. And guess what, my friend? I have the same people.
According to numerous estimates, the undefeated Mayweather has made more than $ 700 million in his 21-year professional career during which he won the world title in five divisions.
The welterweight champion signed a six-fight deal with Showtime in February 2013, earning a minimum of $ 30 million per fight. This deal included lucrative a la carte fights against Canelo Alvarez and Manny Pacquiao.
Wilder believes that the rematch against Tyson Fury (27-0-1, 19 KO) and an always elusive showdown with fellow champion Anthony Joshua (22-0, 21 KO's) can bring him more than what he was offered in the framework of the transaction with DAZN presented recently by Skipper.
"And the bottom line is that I am a heavyweight, an American and I have the power," said Wilder. "Easy, imagine that Floyd has the power, [if] he would knock them out as I do? Oh, what? Easy."
Keith Idec is a senior writer / columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @ Idecboxing.
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