By Scott Gilfoid: Undefeated heavyweight prospect Deontay Wilder (22-0, 22 KO’s) will be taking another big step forward on June 23rd against the capable Owen Beck (29-10, 20 Ko’s) in an eight round bout at the Killer Buzz Arena in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
In his last five bouts, Wilder has flattened the following fighters: Jesse Oltmanns, Marlon Hayes, David Long, Daniel Cota and Dominique Alexander.
Wilder, 6’7″, is looking to get a few more wins underneath his belt before making a run for one of the heavyweight titles. The 26-year-old talent already has enough power to compete against the top heavyweight champions right now, but he just needs a few little areas of improvement on his game in terms of defense and his use of his left hand before he’s ready for the big time.
I fully expect Wilder to KO Beck, and every one of his opponents right up until he gets a title shot in either 2013 or 2014. I can’t see Wilder being held back from a title shot until 2014, because he’s ready to bust out and beat a few of the top names in the division to get a title shot. He doesn’t need to wait because his power is so good.
In his 22 bouts, the longest that Wilder has been extended is four rounds, and that’s only happened on twice with fighters that were in the full survival mode from round one. Guys that have actually tried to fight Wilder have found themselves getting knocked out in one or two rounds. It’s only the fighters that fight to survive that can make it to the 3rd and 4th.
Wilder is ready to face the top 15 opponents right now and succeed. After he dispatches Beck in one or two rounds you can look for Wilder to take a big step up in class to get ready for a title shot.
Beck, 36, has a little bit of power and it’s going to be interesting to see if he wants to test his power against the hard hitting Wilder. Hopefully he goes out his shield rather than choosing to run from Wilder like most of his opponents have done.
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