Wilder has had more than forty fights to get his profile where he wants it. Beating Kownacki and Ortiz again won't change anything. People on here went on about his supposedly increasing profile after Fury. Result; he wasn't on PPV in his next fight and he fought in a venue that was a third empty. I think the time has come where you have to realise that simply repeating the same thing he's largely done for years isn't going to suddenly turn Wilder into a superstar. For that he needs Joshua and he's ducking him.
I don’t care if Wilder is considered irrelevant or a superstar, couldn't care less. I’m just offering an opinion on what is currently going on. I genuinely think his team is saying “**** you, we’ll walk our own path and you can beg us for the fight”. I don’t think it’s fear, I think it’s ego.
There's a massive difference between Ortiz as a late sub and Ortiz in a rematch when the Joshua fight is also on the table.
But your opinion rests on the idea that Wilder can use Ortiz and Kownacki to boost his profile and maximise his earnings. Something which hasn't happened in years of largely similar fights. It's almost literally madness. He fought Molina, and Arreola, and Washington, and Stiverne, and Ortiz, and Breazeale, and now Ortiz again, and then Kownacki. I'm expected to think the final two wins bump him into a position where he's as big as Joshua? Nobody surely believes that.
He’s largely gone under the radar up until the recent Fury fight. That fight given him huge exposure and he’s clearly trying to build on that.
I don’t think knocking someone out he KO’d more than convincingly a year ago is going to build on that. Nobody is giving Ortiz a chance this time round. The conclusion is forgone and afterwards it’s going to be “oh Wilder knocked out Ortiz again as expected”.
Huge exposure which manifested itself in a venue which was a third empty in a fight which wasn't on PPV. It's a blatant, blatant duck. What do you really think happens here? Wilder starts doing 500k PPV's against Kownacki and selling out venues making his claim for a 50/50 fight with Joshua more realistic? Not a chance.
Exactly. Imagine the reaction if Wilder was screaming for the Joshua fight and Joshua came out with 'it'll happen one year but for now I'm really focussed on my rematch with Povetkin.' Do me a favour. He'd be slaughtered.
By doing the same thing he's been doing for years which didn't increase his value? Everyone is talking about the Ortiz rematch negatively. When he destroys him, which he will, in front of a third empty New York venue, what position is he realistically in then? The answer is, the same as he is now. I get he could increase his profile by blasting Fury out, but that's not happening. Anyone not calling this a blatant duck is just sticking their head in the sand. As I said, Joshua doing the same thing with a Povetkin rematch would see him absolutely crucified.
That’s already happened in the ducking years of 17/18. Joshua said in an interview with Sky in October/November 2017 that no one is gonna rush his career and it wouldn’t bother him if the Wilder fight didn’t happen “next year, the year after or the year after that”. We also had Barry Hearn say that Wilder’s team wanted the fight next and that Finkel was crazy for wanting it so soon. The hypocrisy from you, and matchroom fans is astonishing. Joshua ducked in 17/18. And Wilder is ducking now.
So Joshua wasn't in any rush as a 19-0 WBA/IBF world champion who was about to sign to fight the WBO world champion? That seems reasonable. Wilder however has had more than 40 fights and is wasting his time now rematching a pensioner. Both situations are chalk and cheese and Wilder is blatantly acting like a guy who doesn't fancy it.
Interested to see if Ortiz gets paid more than the $7mil AJ offer. I'd be livid if I was him and it was less. Getting paid less to get brutally KOd