Deontay Wilder had an opponent for his spring return for a few hours before the prospective opponent denied the main event.
Stephen Shaw was announced by more than one boxing outlet as the boxer in the opposite corner to Wilder for a return to action in April on Black Prime. Manouk Akopyan made the initial confirmation that Wilder would make a comeback after several months of being linked to retirement.
Once the news of Wilder’s imminent return was out in the open, discussions began over who ‘The Bronze Bomber’ would face. Without any official word, Shaw’s name was put out there as a done deal on Pay Per View.
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However, another boxing writer, Hans Themistode, quickly realized this wasn’t the case. Themistode spoke to Shaw directly, and the American denied any notion of the clash.
First, Themistode said, “OK, I did some digging, and I’ve been told that Shaw isn’t lined up to fight Wilder next. Shaw and his entire team would love to fight Wilder, but they told me that no discussions have taken place. I’m scheduled to talk to Shaw in a few hours, so I’ll do my best to provide some clarity.”
After the call, Themistode added, “I just spoke with Stephan Shaw about a possible Deontay Wilder fight, and he told me it’s all ‘smoke and mirrors.’
“Expect Wilder to return, but it probably won’t be against Shaw next.”
In the video, shared by WBN, Shaw said, “I just woke up one morning, and they were talking about the fight. A couple of weeks ago, they were like, Wilder fight da da da – like I hadn’t heard any particulars,” the 20-2 heavyweight told Themistode.
“Then today, I just saw a blog run with this, so I just shared this. I feel like that’s a fight that would be perfect for me. I’ve sparred with Deontay since 2017, and I’ve been his primary sparring partner. I’ve been part of every camp since he fought Gerald Washington to his last fight with [Zhilei] Zhang. I feel like it was just something to run with.
“Then I spoke to my manager, and he spoke to his manager; it’s a fight we’d love to take, but it’s all smoke and mirrors right now, to be honest,” he concluded.
Wilder is expected to confirm his next opponent this weekend after dropping off the major broadcaster platforms.
