Heavyweight championship boxing is back this weekend as WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder returns to the ring looking to extend his undefeated streak as he puts his title on the line against mandatory challenger Dominic Breazeale. While the WBC champ Wilder has never tasted defeat, he will be looking to get back into the win column after that particular streak recently came to a close.
Back in December, Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) defended his championship against ex-unified heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, and the outcome of the bout drew controversy. Although Wilder dramatically knocked Fury down in the 12th and final round of the world championship showdown, the judges scored the bout a split-draw as Wilder retained his title. An immediate rematch was expected before Fury recently signed an exclusive deal with Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing. So now, Breazeale will get his opportunity at the WBC heavyweight crown.
Breazeale (20-1, 18 KOs) will enter the ring on Saturday night to challenge for a heavyweight title for the second time in his career. The first crack he was awarded resulted in the lone loss of his career, when he suffered a seventh-round TKO loss to current unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua while challenging for the IBF title in June 2016. He's rattled off three consecutive victories since the Joshua loss, including a ninth-round KO win over Carlos Negron in his last outing this past December.
Plus, it's the return of Gary Russell Jr. as he defends his WBC featherweight title against Kiko Martinez. Russell Jr. has been fighting just once per year for the last five since suffering the lone loss of his career to Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2014. He's a massive favorite over Martinez and one day hopes to get a rematch with the pound for pound king.
