Undefeated WBC boxing heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder has been arrested following a misdemeanor charge for the possession of Marijuana on Wednesday. The 2008 Olympic bronze medallist was stopped by police in the fighter’s home city of Tuscaloosa, Alabama for a tinted window vehicle violation.

Officers preceded to search Wilder’s Cadillac after allegedly smelling marijuana; so say the Tuscaloosa police department. Wilder was reportedly taken back to police headquarters and charged but was later released on a bond to the value of $1000 (£784).

Car trouble

The fighter’s attorney initially declined to comment to on-site media but was later reported as telling Tuscaloosa News that the small amount of marijuana found in the vehicle, did not belong to his client, but rather belonged to one of Wilder’s friends who had been using the vehicle.

Paul Patterson - Wilder’s attorney, continued by explaining that Wilder had been out of state recently visiting Georgia, in which he was driving his Rolls Royce whilst the vehicle in question – his Cadillac, had been at home amongst Wilder’s fleet of other cars.

Patterson added that Wilder had returned home and later took his Cadillac out. This was after a friend of Wilder’s had been using the car under his permission whilst he was away from home.

Patterson has denied that Wilder had any knowledge of the small amount of marijuana found in his Cadillac Escalade at the time of arrest.

Heavyweight top-dog

Wilder, who has yet to be defeated in thirty eight boxing fights, has been considered by many as the next logical matchup for British born boxer and unified heavyweight champion, Anthony ‘AJ’ Joshua.

Joshua has held the IBF boxing world title since 2016 and recently took ownership of the WBA and IBO world championships also; when he beat former champion Wladimir Klitschko earlier this year in April.

Both Wilder and Joshua are currently undefeated with impressive reputations for displaying clinically, economical fight finishing firepower!

Wilder, who has finished 37 out of 38 (97%) fights by knockout, may provide the perfect test for Joshua who has finished all of his 19 fights so far. If the two were to meet the fight would give rise to the winner being hailed as the top dog in world Heavyweight Boxing.

It remains to be seen however if this minor legal matter and more importantly the negative press it brings with it, will upset the conversation of a fight between the two champions. Even more so considering that the drug has now been implicated as being potentially performance enhancing for sports athletes. Joshua’s camp may wish to go another way with regards to the fight they wish to make, for AJ’s first title defence as unified champion.

A no-love triangle

Currently, the makings of a different fight have arisen through a banterful social media rivalry between Joshua and former champ Tyson Fury. Despite interest from fans in the prospect of a Joshua vs Fury showdown, the fight is still a long way from the two fighters signing on the dotted line, with doubts hanging over Fury’s physical condition of late.

Fury, who’s coming off the back of a lengthy lay-off; ironically also for a drugs ban having been caught taking Cocaine, has begun training these past months and has vowed to get back into fight shape to face Joshua. Ultimately, recent events have Wilder, Joshua and Fury in a competitive, no-love triangle that makes for an interesting proposition, for the world of heavyweight boxing.
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