Deontay Wilder to face Johann Duhaupas on September 26

Deontay Wilder will make his PBC on NBC debut on September 26 from Birmingham, Alabama, as the reigning WBC heavyweight titleholder faces fringe contender (at best) Johann Duhaupas in the main event from Legacy Arena.

Duhaupas (32-2, 20 KO) is a 34-year-old French heavyweight, and at 6'5" and 230-240 pounds, isn't going to be terribly small in the ring against the 6'7" Wilder (34-0, 33 KO), which is about the end of the compliments one can pay the matchup. Duhaupas notably lost to Erkan Teper on March 14, but did follow that with an "upset" of Manuel Charr, himself a non-contender.

The saving grace of this fight will be if this is truly just a tune-up for Wilder to take on Alexander Povetkin, the top-ranked WBC contender and mandatory challenger. Povetkin (29-1, 21 KO) does present a serious challenge to Wilder on paper, and has looked more ferocious and determined than ever in his last three fights, following a 2013 loss to Wladimir Klitschko.

Povetkin currently is scheduled to face Mariusz Wach on November 4 in Russia, which would give him a chance to take on someone as tall as Wilder in preparation for their hopefully inevitable showdown.

The undercard of Wilder-Duhaupas will feature Omar Figueroa facing Antonio DeMarco in a 140-pound bout. Figueroa last fought on May 9, scoring an exciting but debatable decision win over Ricky Burns. DeMarco announced his retirement following his last fight, a 10-round shutout loss to Rances Barthelemy on June 21, but has decided to come right back instead.