The WBC has announced that the winner of the bout between Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr. would determine who becomes the next mandatory challenger for the WBC heavyweight title. 

The announcement was made on Wednesday and is the first time we are hearing about a potential fight between the two. No timeframe of when the fight might happen was given. 

The current WBC heavyweight champion is Tyson Fury, who got the title after defeating former champion Wilder back in 2020.

Both Wilder and Ruiz are ranked first and second contenders in the WBC heavyweight division. Wilder’s last match was a first-round victory against Robert Helenius in October. That was his first fight after losing to Fury for the second time last year. Ruiz Jr. is has a successful bout against Luis Ortiz a few weeks ago.

Ruiz Jr. is a former heavyweight champion, as he beat Anthony Joshua back in 2019 and was the WBA, WBO, and IBF champion for some months before losing to Joshua in December 2019. 

Wilder has fought Fury three times already, meaning if he wins his fight against Ruiz, he would have to face Fury for the fourth time. Having been beaten by Fury twice now and drawn one fight, a Fury vs. Wilder match is not something anyone is looking forward to, regardless of what the outcome might be. Fury facing Wilder would just be 2020 all over again.

A more refreshing bout would be between Fury and Ruiz Jr. As someone who has beaten Joshua before, it would be interesting to see how Ruiz holds up against Fury, and so far, he seems to be excited about it. Reacting to the latest news from the WBC, Ruiz Jr. uploaded a video of himself training with the caption, “Ready for what comes my way.”

But the question of who faces Fury depends on if Fury wins his December fight against Derek Chisora. Whoever goes him with the belt from that fight would be the one to fight the winner from the Wilder vs. Ruiz. 

Leon Osamor