Former USC football player Gerald Washington has emerged as the replacement opponent for World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on Feb. 25 in Birmingham, Ala.

A Premier Boxing Champions official told The Times a deal was struck late Sunday with Washington (18-0-1, 12 knockouts) to substitute for Poland’s Andrzej Wawrzyk (33-1, 19 KOs), who tested positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance and was pulled from the Fox-televised main event.

Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) previously had a 2016 bout against Russia’s Alexander Povetkin scrapped by Povetkin’s positive test for Meldonium. Wilder then suffered a biceps injury in a summer victory over Riverside’s Chris Arreola, and now returns to his hometown Legacy Arena for this bout.

“This is a good fight, and a better fight now with Washington than it was with Wawrzyk,” fight promoter Lou DiBella said. “Gerald Washington is an imposing, strong cat who’s fought in Alabama before, has a big mouth and is a well-spoken kid.”


A Navy veteran, the 6-foot-6 Washington, 34, was a Pete Carroll-Steve Sarkisian recruit and 2007-08 tight end/defensive end at USC, later landing practice-squad spots with the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks before turning to boxing in 2012 and winning an April bout against former heavyweight title challenger Eddie Chambers at StubHub Center.

“He’s a real threat, not a stooge, and is extremely interesting,” DiBella said.

The card also includes the return of Upland-based heavyweight Dominic Breazeale (17-1, 15 KOs), following his June 25 technical-knockout loss to International Boxing Federation champion Anthony Joshua.

Breazeale meets an intriguing foe in Poland’s Izuagbe Ugonoh (17-0, 14 KOs).


Wilder has said he’s aiming for a later 2017 bout against the winner of the April 29 Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko bout at Wembley Stadium in London.