For much of the last decade there hasn’t been much reason to talk about the heavyweight division unless you were in Europe. The stranglehold Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko have had on the heavyweight titles and their preference for fighting in Germany has made the division out of sight and out of mind in the U.S.
But that could be changing thanks to American contenders Deontay Wilder and Bryant Jennings. Wilder, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., has won all 31 of his professional fights by knockouts. He is expected to challenge WBC champion Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) of Haiti sometime in the near future. Meanwhile, Jennings (18-0, 10 KOs) of Philadelphia can position himself for a world title if he’s able to defeat unbeaten Mike Perez (20-0-1, 12 KOs) of Cuba when the two face each other on July 26 at Madison Square Garden.
Jennings vs. Perez will be the featured undercard bout and an HBO card headlined by middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin of Kazakhstan defending against Daniel Geale of Australia. The winner of Jennings-Perez could be in line to fight the victor between Stiverne and Wilder.
“It’s probably one of the best matchups that we’ve seen in the heavyweight division for a long time where you have two guys risking their undefeated records on the big stage at Madison Square Garden,” said Tom Loffler, who promotes Perez for K2 Pomotions. “That’s what makes this such a compelling co-feature fight. It’s really one of those that you look at as a 50/50 fight. It really depends on who comes in the ring that night as the better person and who leaves as the number one contender.”
The retirement of Vitali Klitschko, who is deeply involved in the political unrest in the Ukraine, has opened up the heavyweight division. Stiverne became Haiti’s first heavyweight champion when he stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round last May to capture the WBC title vacated by Vitali. Wladimir Klitschko still owns the IBF, WBA and WBO titles, defending next against Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria Sept. 6 in Germany.
Perez hopes to leave with better memories than his last fight in the building. He defeated Magomed Abdusalamov in a rugged 10-round bout at the Garden Theater on Nov. 2, 2013. Abdusalamov underwent brain surgery after the bout and has since been in a rehabilitation center outside New York.
Abdusalamov’s family has filed a lawsuit against the New York State Athletic Commission and other parties alleging recklessness, gross negligence and medical malpractice. Perez is trying to stay focused on the upcoming fight and not the tragedy that happened in his last bout.
“This is the fight that’s going to change my life, this one moment that I’m working for,” said Perez, who is based in Ireland. “What happened with the last fight, it happened last fight. I appreciate it if nobody asks any questions because I don’t want to talk about that. Mago’s doing good and I’ve been asking about him. That’s in the past. I just concentrate on the fight with Jennings and this is what I worry about, to go out and do my thing, and that’s it.”
Perez wasn’t entirely focused during the only fight he has had since beating Abdusalamov. He was lucky to get a draw with unheralded Carlos Takam last January. Jennings and Perez were originally scheduled to meet last May, but Perez had to postpone after injuring his left shoulder.
“This is a definite mental test, definitely for the both of us,” Jennings said. “It’s been very tough going all of these weeks. We maybe had two or three weeks in between, but we went a whole lot of weeks and we worked out hard. We nearly killed ourselves. We’ve made sure that we’re fully prepared for this fight.”
It may not be Ali-Frazier or Holyfield-Lewis, but at least heavyweight boxing is relevant in the Garden again.