This Saturday night in Alabama, WBC World Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder (34-0) faces Johan Duhaupas (32-2) for the second defense of the belt he won this past January. Wilder faces a mandatory challenge from Alexander Povetkin (29-1) that has been ushed back a second time so he can face Duhaupas. Wilder also avoided Povetkin in June when he faced Eric Molina (23-2), whom he knocked out in the 9th round.
Though Wilder cannot avoid the WBC’s mandatory challenger Povetkin for long, Povetkin is not sitting on his laurels either. Povetkin faces tough Polish fighter Mariusz Wach (31-1) on Nov. 4. Should Povetkin lose the match with Wach, his chance at Wilder could go by the wayside.
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Wach is a big, 6 ft. 9 in. heavyweight who came back last year and has gone 4-0 since his lone defeat to Wladimir Klitschko in 2012. Wach also served a suspension for PED use after the Klitschko fight, but he has been working his way back fighting every few months since his return. Nevertheless, the fight is in Povetkin’s native Russia, making a win for Wach a tall order in this case. Povetkin and his backers are focused on Wilder and his WBC belt.
Also on this week’s calendar, Italy sees popular veteran Paulie Malignaggi (33-7) face Laszlo Fazekas (27-21-1) in an eight-round bout. Over in the United Kingdom, Fedor Chudinov (13-0) puts his WBA World Super Middleweight title on the line against hometown fighter Frank Buglioni (17-1). The winner of Chudinov vs Buglioni may then face Germany’s Vincent Feigenbutz (20-1), who holds the WBA’s interim title.
Check out our latest video blog where we review the odds for this weekend’s boxing action.
