WILDER IS THE NEW CHAMP
Deontay Wilder
Many questioned the chin of Deontay Wilder (33-0, 32 KO) before Saturday night. Wilder answered those questions by taking some flush shots from one of the hardest punchers in the division in Bermane Stiverne (24-2-1, 22 KO). Many questioned the stamina of Wilder before the Stiverne bout. He had not gone past 4 rounds. He went all twelve with Bermane, and won virtually every round. Wilder captured the WBC heavyweight (200+) belt in the process.
WIDE DECISION WIN BETTER THAN A KNOCKOUT?
Wilder had a 100% knockout ratio before the contest, but saw it drop to about 96.96% versus the Haitian. The scorecards were 118-108, 119-108, and 120-107 in favor of the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native. He had Stiverne hurt on several occasions, but Bermane was tough and fought until the end. Stiverne has never been knocked down, and the one stoppage loss on his record was highly questionable. A quick knockout would have added to the legend of Wilder’s power, but a boxing lesson is even more impressive. Stiverne was coming off back-to-back wins over Chris Arreola (35-4, 31 KO), who was long considered America’s heavyweight hope. Wilder has now taken that title from Arreola by defeating his conqueror.
LOUD-MOUTH FURY NEXT?
Wilder has said that he wants to defend his new belt against England’s Tyson Fury (23-0, 17 KO) in his next fight. 6’7″ Wilder versus 6’9″ Fury would be a match of heavyweight titans worthy of challenging the true division king, 6’6″ Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53 KO). Wilder and Fury are the only two fighters out there capable of upsetting Wlad. Everyone else is either too fat, too short, too inexperienced, or a combination of the three. Wilder and Fury look like legitimate threats, and the better of the two should challenge the long reigning Ukranian
WILDER-FURY ON NBC WOULD REVIVE U.S. INTEREST IN HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
Wladimir Klitschko normally draws 60,000 people to his title defenses in Europe, but the broadcasts of these events are rarely aired on boxing networks in the United States. The owner of the WBO, WBA, IBO, and IBF versions of the heavyweight championship is virtually unknown by U.S. mainstream audiences. The heavyweight division has always been the premier division in the sport. America is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, sports nations in the world. Boxing has become a niche sport in the U.S., due in large part to a decline in interest in the heavyweight division. Wilder’s manager Al Haymon, who has secured big network fights for his other guys on NBC, may secure fights for the Tuscaloosa native on The Big Peacock, as Pedro Fernandez calls it. Heavyweight title fights on prime time on NBC featuring a U.S. Olympian would do wonders for what has been an ailing sport in many ways. Both Fury and Wilder have a lot of charisma, so expect the buildup to this fight to be tremendous.
WILDER USED TO BEING UNDERDOG
With just 14 fights, a young Wilder began to make a name for himself in the amateurs. In 2007, he was able to secure his place on the 2008 Olympic Boxing Team. He was not even supposed to be there, but Wilder, with only 21 amateur bouts entering the games, walked away with a bronze medal. The legend of the “Bronze Bomber” was born. After being stopped with headgear on and being dropped a few times as a pro, it was reasonable to question the toughness of the lanky heavyweight, but he has proven his legitimacy.
LEGITIMACY AT LAST
Before Wilder’s win over Stiverne, the last heavyweight champion from America was Shannon Briggs (57-6-1, 50 KO) held the WBC belt back in 2007. Wilder had a reputation for fighting “bums” and was supposed to crumble against a true opponent, but he dominated a guy ranked number 3 by the Transnational Boxing Rankings (tbrb.org) last night. The reign of the “Tuscaloosa Tornado” has begun.