Deontay Wilder to defend heavyweight title vs. Dominic Breazeale on May 18
Deontay Wilder’s next heavyweight title defense will be against Dominic Breazeale on May 18 at the Barclays Center and will be televised live on Showtime.
Wilder fought to a draw on Dec. 1 in Los Angeles against Tyson Fury, which was the biggest fight of the year. He was expected to fight Fury in a rematch, but not long after Fury signed with Top Rank, Top Rank announced Fury would not take the immediate rematch.
“Deontay has made a choice that both represents loyalty and will be financially lucrative for a long, long time,” Stephen Espinoza, Showtime’s president of sports, said during a news conference Tuesday in New York.
Espinoza called it a “premium fight and a high-quality fight,” and noted it represented Showtime’s commitment to boxing.
Wilder is 40-0-1 with 39 knockouts. He had Fury down twice, including in the final round, during their Dec. 1 fight. Fury got up, though, and made it to the finish and the bout wound up a split draw.
Breazeale is 20-1 with 18 knockouts. His only loss was a seventh-round TKO to IBF-WBA-WBO champion Anthony Joshua in 2016.
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