By Gerardo Granados: I wonder if Deontay Wilder is able to take a punch from a solid heavyweight contender and I had a really hard time trying to find the answer. Wilder´s amateur experience is good and fail short to shine as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Ray Mercer, Wladimir Klitschko or Lennox Lewis did.
Not the less at the amateurs he must have corrected his flaws and polished his boxing skills but prize fighting is a lot more demanding.
Wilder can hit hard that’s for sure, also has great athletic built for a heavyweight fighter, he has the size, height and reach; but it’s really difficult to say if he is something special before he faces someone who can take and give a punch, someone durable as Ray Mercer was or someone who has the mobility, hand speed and good footwork to test him.
How can Deontay develop his overall boxing skills if he only fights the same type of boxers? Truth is that the heavyweight division lacks great athletic skilled fighters with the exception of few as Wladimir Klitschko and David Haye. But how can Wilder learn to box on the inside or how will He react when in trouble after been wobbled or rocked by a hard shot? Can he keep calm under pressure and follow a game plan?
What can we expect when Wilder get to face a boxer like Holmes who had a great jab or a fighter with better speed and power who wouldn’t just stay in front of him waiting to counter and instead will go under his jab and in close throw serious bombs like Tyson did while prime. Would he survive the onslaught of big heavies like Lewis or Vitali? Can Bronze Bomber outbox a guy with a high ring IQ like Wladimir? Is he getting ready to face top competition and possibly defend a championship belt by taking “stay busy or tune up fights”?
To be fair have to admit that former champions have faced weak opposition before his shot at the title. Question is if Wilder will become a champion with a short reign or if he will become a boxing legend. After Vitali retired, Wladimir is the best out there but I can’t say he has a solid chin to take Wilder´s punches but I can assure the reader that Wladimir has too much experience and would handle Wilder attack.
The major risk for a promoter is to fail to profit from a fighter that was not able to fill the hype.
Wilder has the pressure to become the next great American heavyweight, but by facing weak opposition he won’t be able to stop critics. Maybe it’s time for him to step up the quality of opposition so he can be ready to engage better fighters. The reader must remember a young Wladimir getting knocked out by average boxers: Corrie Sanders, Ross Puritty or Lamont Brewster; now days Wladimir Klitschko would not have allowed any of them to came close enough to land a big punch.
I am certain that Deontay has enough punching power to knockout any current heavyweight fighter. But, can Wilder take a punch?
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