Deontay Wilder must prove himself against a dangerous contender, says Johnny Nelson
Thursday 23 February 2017 08:29, UK
As Deontay Wilder prepares to defend his WBC heavyweight title against Gerald Washington, Sky Sports expert Johnny Nelson urges the champion to take more risks...
I think Wilder is happy to watch everybody else scrap it out among themselves.
We've got Anthony Joshua fighting Wladimir Klitschko, while Luis Ortiz is waiting for his own world title shot. Everyone is avoiding Ortiz like the plague, they have suddenly developed amnesia.
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Wilder is thinking: 'I'll let you boys fight it out and I'll live on this mountain while I'm here. This will happen, eventually.'
Deontay's in a comfortable position, but it's time for Wilder to step up and fight someone like Ortiz.
Fighting the winner of Joseph Parker-Hughie Fury is not stepping up. I have seen Joseph Parker, I rate him as a good fighter, but I don't think that's stepping up. Parker has not proved himself either as a formidable fighter.
Fighting Ortiz, that's a step up, and then we have a fight on our hands.
I don't think Wilder's injuries will be a problem, but they could become an issue if he loses. If Wilder does suffer a shock defeat, you could hear him say that his hand was giving him trouble. You don't know what can happen when a fight is ignited. Injuries can flare up.
Against Gerald Washington, he has not got a pushover. He's not boxed someone as big, as successful as Washington in a while. Washington has knocked 12 of his opponents out, so he can punch, he's a big unit. How does Deontay deal with someone that is nearly as tall as him?
We could see an upset. Listen, we've nearly seen it before when Vitali Klitschko boxed Lennox Lewis at short notice, who was also training to be on the undercard and slipped in like Washington.
We will see what Washington is made of when the first bell rings this weekend.
Deontay Wilder vs Gerald Washington is live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Sunday morning from 1am.
