Is Deontay Wilder the next great Heavyweight?

By Boxing News - 01/19/2015 - Comments

wilder00000000000000000(Photo credit: Sumio Yamada) By Gerardo Granados: Last Saturday night at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, USA. The WBC heavyweight belt holder Bermane Stiverne (W24(21)L2-D1) put up an effortless performance which lead up to his defeat to the hands of a hungry contender.

Two days after the fight a friend of mine asked me if Deontay Wilder (W33(32)-L0-D0) is the next great heavyweight, which didn’t surprise me that much because my friend is a casual fan who will believe anything a top promoter say or an impressive TV fighter hype highlight shows.

What really surprised me was the lack of hunger showed by Stiverne. I admit that Deontay looked good but I was not impressed at all because his opponent was not an elite fighter nor defeated Vitali Klitschko to win the WBC belt.

To be honest I will acknowledge that Wilder fought a smart fight, he did what he needed to do to win but still he must improve his defensive skills if he is going to challenge the Heavyweight Champion of the World Wladimir Klitschko. It’s hard to tell if Wilder can be dominant against a boxer who can cut off the ring, also against someone with his size even less if he fights against a lion with mobility and speed like David Haye.

I replied to my friend that Stiverne´s game plan was awful and that he never adjusted, maybe he didn’t knew how to or he was there just for his pay. I think it was the worst performance for a defending organization heavyweight champion since Buster Douglas lost to Evander Holyfield.

ESPN boxing analyst Dan Rafael twitted that Deontay had a star making victory and former heavyweight legend George Foreman was impressed; but I won’t buy into the hype just yet. I have even read an article comparing Wilder to Iron Mike Tyson! Before I am convinced of his potential I have to see him defeat a top lion like contenders Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Kubrat Pulev or former champion David Haye to gauge how good this young talent really is.

I told my friend that Deontay looked good because he fought against a tailor made opponent who had a lousy game plan but against Wladimir he would end up on his back facing the lamps and my friend replied that it is too soon for Wilder to take a fight against Klitschko. Well if Deontay is a champion then he is already ready to take on Wladimir Klitschko next isn’t he. There better be no excuses about him not been ready or experienced enough, if he holds a major organization belt then he is supposed to be ready to defend his belt against the best opponent available.

Deontay dominated a B class fighter but he has never faced an elite heavyweight to tell if he is going to become a great heavyweight. When he faced C class fighter he simply was better but against a slow, flat footed Stiverne who had an impressive low work rate it’s simply not possible to conclude if he will or won’t become the future of the heavyweight division.

I think it’s better to wait and see how Wilder perform once he step up the level of competition before measuring his real potential. Years ago there was a boxing talent named Michael Grant who was supposed to be the next great heavyweight, but once Grant got into the ring against the heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis all questions were answered with an upper cut. When Vitali gave hell to Lewis, it was clear that the older Klitschko was for real and not just hype.

Do the readers truly believe the WBC belt holder Deontay Wilder is the next great heavyweight?



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