New WBC Bridgerweight Class? “No, thanks”, Deontay Wilder

Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder (42-1-1, 41KOs), expressed a negative opinion about the introduction of a new intermediate weight category between cruiser and heavyweight, the “bridgerweight” born from an idea of the WBC president, Mauricio Sulaiman.

Mauricio Sulaiman, inspired by the Anglo-Saxon word “Bridge” which means bridge and the story of the child Bridger Walker (who defended his little sister from the aggression of a large dog), has decided to introduce what would be the eighteenth weight division on the grounds of the current inability of the “small heavyweights” (between 200 and 224 pounds) to compete with the giants of the division.

By virtue of this reasoning, Deontay Wilder would be the ideal candidate to represent this new weight division, considering that the boxer from Tuscaloosa often recorded a weight of less than 220 pounds, unlike other fighters such as like Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs), Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21KOs) and Andy Ruiz Jr (33-2, 22KOs), just to name few, who recorded weights of approximately 250 pounds. However, the former world champion of the WBC title, held for seven years through ten defenses, gave a negative opinion to this reform and, consequently, rejected the idea of being the ideal representative of the new category.

Deontay Wilder commented this idea rejecting to be considered a light heavyweight boxer. Sarcastically, he also mentioned that this new weight class would have only the purpose of making someone rich since creating new belt is a way of attracting more money, stating once again that he is not interested in this weight division. The highest weight Wilder ever recorded in his career was at the rematch with Tyson Fury, where he weighed 231 pounds, while on his debut in 2008, he weighed about 207 pounds.

The Bronze Bomber, who has been harshly criticized by fighters and commentators in the boxing world for his excuses and “conspiracy theories” against Tyson Fury over the last weeks, finally commented that he can gain weight and easily reach in excess of 230 pound if he is willing to do so. In addition, he does not see the weight as a true issue since as a lighter heavyweight boxer he has won fights against much bigger and heavier boxers than him such as Luis Ortiz (241 pounds) and Dominic Breazeale (255).

Wilder concluded the interview saying that he has “too much power for such a low weight class!” hinting at the fact that fighting lighter heavyweight boxers could be dangerous. According to the Bronze Bomber, his power can easily compensate a gap of 30/50 pounds.