
Originally Posted by
TitoFan
Be honest with yourselves. Are you really trying to use Wilder's past fights against powderpuffs to gauge what his following would be for a mega-heavyweight-unification fight involving an American, the likes of which haven't been seen in decades? So because the American public has been slow to warm up to Wilder, they would stay home or tune in to something else if and when they find out Wilder is going to be fighting the great AJ? There's two sides to this coin, and it amazes me how many people are only willing to look at one.
1. Why have the Americans been”slow to warm up” to Wilder? Ans. because he doesn’t compare with what went before him.
Things don't occur in a time vacuum. Prior to AJ and Wilder there was Wlad, the boxing equivalent of a gigantic chloroform blanket over U.S. boxing fandom... for well over a decade. Waking up from this slumber takes more than one or two fights. It doesn't help that Wilder started off his career fighting a multitude of bums. He's since corrected that.
2. AJ isn’t a great, nowhere near it, he’s the best of the current bunch, that’s all. Consequently , that’s why it won’t sell on a Saturday afternoon in the States.
The guy who dethroned Wlad?? (I don't count Fury). In one of the most exciting heavyweight title fights in recent memory?? Now you're selling AJ short. So he's basically God in the UK.... but a nobody in the States? Nah... I don't buy it.
3. If I’m wrong and it is a
mega-heavyweight-unification fight involving an American, and it is a $100 million fight, then Wilder’s team will have no trouble stumping up an offer to get AJ over there. And if AJ refuses to take the bait, then they can start to say AJ is ducking Wilder.
One thing I'll agree on with everyone else is that Wilder's team is shitty at self-promotion. I can't say where the fight should be, other than to also agree it would have a much bigger gate in the UK than in the States. They're both undefeated champions, representing countries with a vast tradition of boxing rivalry. All I'm saying is that should be worth something.
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