Deontay Wilder has reportedly agreed to face one of the sport’s pound-for-pound biggest punchers on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.
The former WBC champion is something of a knockout specialist himself, despite having reached a stage where many feel he is on the brink of retirement.
Even at the age of 41, though, Wilder is considered a dangerous heavyweight who happens to be coming off a split decision victory over fellow veteran Derek Chisora in April.
Back then, he scored two knockdowns in a largely chaotic 12-round contest, before revisiting negotiations for a potential clash with Oleksandr Usyk.
Ultimately, those talks were scrapped and Wilder instead became linked with Jai Opetaia, who comes off a ninth-round finish over Noel Mikaelian last month.
As a result, the former two-time world champion kept himself in the mix to face David Benavidez, with their cruiserweight showdown having been verbally agreed for May 2027.
Before then, however, Opetaia – undefeated with 24 knockouts from 31 wins – has reportedly agreed to move up to heavyweight and square off with Wilder on December 11.
Taking to social media, boxing journalist Dan Rafael reported this as a likely addition to the Fury-Joshua card at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
“Per source, while it’s not signed yet, [a] deal is agreed to for Wilder-Opetaia to be on the [Fury-Joshua] card.”
News: Per source, while it's not signed yet, deal is agreed to for Wilder-Opetaia to be on the #FuryJoshua card. #boxing
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) October 30, 2026
While Opetaia seems the more likely opponent, Wilder has also been linked with Murat Gassiev, who currently holds the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title.
The WBA ‘super’ variant, meanwhile, is set to be on the line for Fury-Joshua, with the winner becoming a three-time world champion.
