Deontay Wilder has risen in the WBC Rankings despite two straight defeats and remains eligible for an immediate heavyweight title shot.
“The Bronze Bomber” moved up one place due to the World Boxing Council’s ruling that anyone challenging another organization’s title must be removed from the WBC list. This means Anthony Joshua, facing Daniel Dubois for the IBF belt on September 21, is dropped despite previously being the number one contender.
Deontay Wilder’s bad form
That honor now goes to former titleholder Tyson Fury. However, Fury is not mandatory despite having a rematch clause to face current WBC ruler Oleksandr Usyk in December. It’s a complicated situation that is also largely unfathomable in Wilder’s case due to his form.
Losing against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in December and June is not a recognizable world championship-worthy run. Wilder’s record since 2020 leaves a lot to be desired, with four losses and only one victory. Only a solitary knockout of Robert Helenius, no longer ranked in the WBC Top 40, backs up any claims Wilder has to compete for his old green and gold belt.
Despite everything mentioned above, Wilder goes from 15th to 14th in the past month.
The four major boxing sanction bodies have discussed the possibility of featuring the other champions in the ratings. If this were the case, Wilder undoubtedly wouldn’t be eligible for a world title shot as a top-fifteen-ranked contender. Additionally, every WBA, IBF, and WBO titleholder would feature above the American in the current standings.
Wilder needs a victory to get back in the mix, having recently been linked to a move down to bridgerweight. Champion Lawrence Okolie accepted the challenge of facing Wilder after World Boxing News got the green light from Mauricio Sulaiman for the 38-year-old to contest the 224-pound if he so wished.
Without a response from Wilder before a scheduled purse bid with mandatory and interim champion Kevin Lerena, Okolie seems set to move on.
WBC Heavyweight Rankings – July 2024
1 Tyson Fury GB
2 Agit Kabayel Germany CONTINENTAL AMERICAS
3 Zhilei Zhang China
4 Efe Ajagba Nigeria/US SILVER
5 Jared Anderson US USWBC
6 Martin Bakole Congo/GB
7 Frank Sanchez Cuba
8 Joe Joyce GB
9 Bakhodir Jalolov Uzbekistan
10 Fabio Wardley GB BBBofC/COMM
11 Arslanbek Makhmudov Canada
12 Filip Hrgovic Croatia
13 Luis Ortiz Cuba
14 Deontay Wilder US
15 Otto Wallin
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
