By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten KO artist Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) has heard from his many detractors after his many knockouts wins that he’s been facing soft opposition. Deontay says he doesn’t want to hear those same critics after he beats WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne (24-1, 21 KOs) in their fight next month on January 17th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Deontay wants to receive a pat on the back if/when he beats the hard-hitting Stiverne and takes his WBC strap next month. This is a big step up for Deontay, as Stiverne is a very good fighter and one of the best in the heavyweight division.
If Deontay can beat him like he’d beaten his other opposition, it’ll say a lot about the 6’7” Deontay’s talent. You don’t beat a quality fighter like Stiverne unless you’ve got a lot of talent, especially if you can knock him out in the first four rounds or so.
“I don’t want anyone to make excuses to me,” Deontay said. “I don’t want people to discredit me anymore. The time has come to change that. I have heard nothing but excuses for my 32 wins by KO and when I get 33, I don’t want to hear anything about it.”
As good as a knockout win for Deontay will be, it’s very likely that he’ll continue to be dumped on by boxing fans who will likely discredit his win by saying that Stiverne isn’t a very good fighter. He obviously is, but this won’t change fans from still saying that Deontay hasn’t accomplished anything.
Deontay probably won’t get any credit from the fans until he beats the likes Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin. If Deontay can take those fighters’ scalps then he’ll have arrived. The remaining top 15 heavyweights will be easy pickings for Deontay once he gets past Povetkin and Wladimir. Tyson Fury will likely be eliminated when he faced Wladimir in 2015, so he won’t even be getting a shot at Deontay’s WBC title if he beats Stiverne.
“I have a chance to shock the world and I can’t wait for it,” Deontay said. “I think this is the most anticipated heavyweight bout in a long time. There’s a lot of energy in my home city. This is my time. This is me.”
This fight promises to be an exciting one from start to finish. Stiverne is a huge puncher with an excellent chin. However, there are limits to what any fighter can take in terms of punishment, and if he’s unable to block Deontay’s huge right hands, then this fight won’t last very long. It doesn’t matter how good Stiverne’s chin is. He won’t be able to take Deontay’s right hands for long if he’s able to tee off on him consistently.
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