Wilder "a big name" ????!

Wilder has 2,5 million followers on Instagram.
Wardley has 91k and Kabayel 587k.

Wilder is the money fight for Usyk.

 

I'm as harsh a critic as any when it comes to the bronze fraud...

But he's a big name.

 

Wilder fought a bum in the gym in Kansas in his last fight.

Wardley was fighting a second best heavyweight in the world in front of a packed out arena in UK where the money is now.

 

It's bizarre that he's even being seriously mentioned as a 'Big Fight' challenger for the title in 2026.

I can't remember anything like it.
He's lost 4 of his last 6 fights (over a full 6 years), 3 of those losses by stoppage, the other loss a shut-out points loss. His two wins against Helenius and Herndon.
He's what, 40 ?

I remember George Foreman getting a shot at Moorer in 1994 after 18 months out of the ring, and a loss to Tommy Morrison being his last fight. That was a cynical cherry-pick (that went wrong!). But that was George Foreman, and his form was nowhere near as bad as Wilder's is now.

 

Deontay Wilder is about the same as Dillian Whyte right now.
They were both rated "in the top 5" ... and fighting on "PPV" ..... 6 or 7 years ago .....

 

Usyk will make a lot more money fighting Wilder than Wardley and Kabayel unfortunately.

 

You'd think so but even Hearn said before Uysk dropped the belt that he didn't think the Wardley fight would happen due to it not paying enough

 

I absolutely despise Wilder and would much rather see Wardley, Kabayel, or even Parker if he can get things settled. But if Usyk wants Wilder next, it is because he knows he can make the money off it. Is what it is.

I also believe that he looks at Deontay as unfinished business because when Fury wouldn't fight him, he said he wanted Wilder next, then, and Wilder took that as a sort of handshake.

Final thought, it one thing that I think you aren't getting is that of course YOU will pay to see Kabayel or Wardely, as you are a real boxing fan. But big fights make money because they draw in casuals. Wilder is indeed one of the few American fighters that, for whatever reason, has a casual fan base.

 

The wilder ko reel is a powerful thing! Even if it’s actually not that impressive in real life!
Wilder is shot to bits and other than the big bombs was never really that impressive at all anyway in his “prime” which is long gone, as such I personally have no interest in seeing usyk fight him BUT I do understand why usyk would want to face him before he retires

 

Even when he was champion most of the USA didn’t care.

 

He wasnt even a big name or draw in the US for 90% of his career. I'm not sure he was even truly the "A side" in the first Fury fight and he sure as **** wasnt in the second, lets face it it was Furys trash talking and persona that sold those fights much more than anything Wilder did.

 

Some of you guys need perspective. The average American has absolutely never heard of the names Agit Kabayel or Fabio Wardley before. While he’s far from an A-list mainstream celebrity, Wilder at least has some name recognition among the American public.

Wilder is absolutely the biggest name Usyk can fight in the US, excluding Jake Paul and opponents he’s already beaten, and it’s not even close.

 

Depends on context. Among boxing fans, somebody like Usyk is as big a name as it gets. Outside of our bubble, to John Q. Public, most boxers are totally obscure aside from Ali/Tyson/Pacquiao/Mayweather, and maybe a handful more that get name-checked in songs by famous rappers. The average Mexican probably knows Canelo, even if they don't follow the sport whatsoever - but a given American might well not. There are probably 2-3 dozen NBA players more likely to have their names recognized by a random person on the street than a Canelo/Usyk/Inoue/Crawford.