Deontay Wilder to defend WBC heavyweight title against Andrzej Wawrzyk on February 25
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) will defend his title against Andrzej Wawrzyk (33-1, 19 KOs) on February 25 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
Wilder, who will be making his fifth title defence, stopped Chris Arreola in 8 rounds to retain the belt in July but broke his right hand and tore his right biceps in the bout.
The American had to undergo surgery for both injuries and was sidelined for the rest of the year.
"I'm excited about defending my world championship for a fifth time and in front of my great fans at Legacy Arena in Birmingham," said Wilder.
"It's always fun to display my talents in front of the hometown fans. It's an opportunity that I always look forward to and it brings out the best in me. I'm healthy and I'm ready to put on a fantastic show."
Wilder won the world title with a dominant decision over Bermane Stiverne in January 2015 and has defended it with stoppage wins over Eric Molina, Johann Duhaupas, Artur Szpilka and Arreola.
His next challenger, Poland's Wawryzk, has won six fights in a row, all inside the distance, since suffering his only defeat, a third-round TKO to Alexander Povetkin in a WBA title bout in 2013.
"I'm extremely motivated to fight for the heavyweight title against a great fighter like Deontay Wilder," said Wawrzyk.
"Fighting for the world title has always been my dream. To fight against such a great athlete as Wilder is an extremely difficult challenge, but one I am ready for. I have trained for this since I was a teenager. On February 25 I will step into the ring ready to fight and win against the most dangerous man on the planet."
Should Wilder defeat Wawrzyk, he looks set to fight the winner of the April 29 clash between IBF champion Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) and former world champion Wladimir Klitschko (64-4, 54 KOs) later in 2017.