American journeyman boxer Curtis Harper has revealed that he has been offered to fight Deontay Wilder next.
The ‘Bronze Bomber’, has looked like a shadow of his former self since his trilogy bout with Fury in October 2021 and has lost four out of his last five fights.
Following a routine first-round knockout win over Robert Helenius in October 2022, Wilder stepped up his level of opposition in two Riyadh Season cards.
He was battered from pillar to post in a points loss to Joseph Parker in December 2023 and then got knocked out by Zhilei Zhang in June.
The once fearsome puncher looked timid and gun-shy in both of his last outings, leading several members of the boxing fraternity to call for his retirement.
However, Wilder has since come out and declared that he will be fighting again this year.
And according to Harper, he is at the front of the queue to face ‘The Bronze Bomber’ next.
Harper confirmed to The Ring that he had signed his side of the deal before adding that the fight is ‘supposed to take place in April’.
The 36-year-old is a career journeyman with an 18-11 record.
He’s fought and lost to a few notable names during his career including Zhilei Zhang, Richard Torrez Jr, Bakhodir Jalolov, and Efe Ajagba.
His fight with Ajagba made headlines in 2018 when Harper was disqualified for walking out of the ring when the opening bell sounded.
He later confirmed that he did so over a pay dispute.
PBCHarper, known best for walking out of the ring against Ajagba, is top of the list to box Wilder[/caption]
Explaining the situation his promoter Rick Glaser elaborated: “What happened here was, on August 12, Curtis was given a contract to fight Ajagba for $6,000.
“He specifically asked the person who gave him the contract whether the fight would be on TV and was told no.
“He signed the contract on August 13 and sent it back that day. After that, he was treated like garbage.
“He and his wife didn’t get their plane tickets until Aug. 22 [the day of their flight].
“They flew into Minneapolis and waited at the airport for an hour and 45 minutes before they were picked up.
“Then, at the weigh-in on Thursday, Curtis learned that contrary to what he’d been told before, his fight was going to be on TV.
“And he still hadn’t been given a countersigned contract. So he wanted more money.”
It is understood that Wilder’s next fight will be broadcast on American streaming platform BLK Prime.
The choice of opponent suggests Wilder is trying to rebuild his career towards another big payday.
Boxing WhatsApp channel
Get the latest fight news, reaction and the best opinion from talkSPORT pundits in our Boxing WhatsApp channel.
Follow our Boxing channel HERE.
