By Scott Gilfoid: The massively talented unbeaten former Olympic heavyweight Bronze medalist for the United States Deontay Wilder (17-0, 17 KO’s) scored his 17th consecutive knockout on Saturday night beating the “Dangerous” Damon Reed (46-16, 32 KO’s) by a 2nd round knockout at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Reed decided to fight off the ropes against huge right hand punching Wilder and was blasted out with a flurry of shots that ended with the 39-year-old Reed hitting the canvas. The bout was stopped at 1;59 of the round.
Reed was pummeled by Wilder with combinations and did a fair job of taking the shots for a little while until he made to mistake of trying to fight off the ropes. This made the talented Wilder’s job so much easier because he didn’t have to hunt Reed down like he’s had to do with other opponents of his who have often opted to run rather than risk taking Wilder’s huge right hand shots.
Wilder, only 25, said this to al.com: “I feel I am the next heavyweight champion of the world.”
Believe it. Wilder is poised to be a future champion. WBA heavyweight champion David Haye is about to lose his World Boxing Association title next month against IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko, and that will make room for Wilder to move in and put pressure on Wladimir to either defend three of the four belts while his brother WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko defends the fourth strap. I would give Wilder a decent chance of beating Wladimir if he can catch him with one of his monstrous right hands. Vitali is quite another matter, but he’s nearing 40, so he might not be around too much longer. Other than the Klitschkos, I can see Wilder beating the other heavyweights in the division.
Reed had some constructive criticism to say about Wilder after the fight, saying this about his jab: “He flicks it a little bit. I think it should be stronger. Maybe he’s working on that….Against bigger guys, he’s going to have to stop pawing his jabs.They’re going to eat right through that.”
Yes, Wilder’s jab needs a lot of work, as does his left hand. Wilder has been getting by with his right all this time because it’s such a devastating weapon. When you have a right like Wilder’s you can beat anyone in the division. But he needs to develop his jab and left hand if he wants to make things easier for himself in the future.
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