(Photo credit: Esther Lin/Showtime) By John Stevens: Very soon now, as long as there are no last minute accidents, injuries or flu attacks, we will be seeing one of the most highly anticipated battles in the heavyweight division for many years.
Both Stiverne and Wilder look very calm and collected. Their body languages display no negative signals as far as I have seen. Both men look to be completely ‘in the zone’, and boxers, when in the zone, are at their absolute peak of ability. One of them though, is going to be battered out of that zone!
But who????!! Everybody is talking about this contest! There is a real buzz going around about it and rightly so, as it features two of the best heavyweights in the world contesting the ultimate prize. But what makes this contest all the more intriguing is two major factors which set it apart from the norm; that is;
A) Its almost impossible to pick the winner; and
B) Without any shadow of a doubt it’s gonna be a slug-fest!!!
Regarding A) I can’t remember a world title fight in recent years where people are so divided over who is going to triumph. Even those who have made a declaration seem to have niggling doubts and are not carrying 100% confidence in their respective opinions. I’ve already assessed the two men in a previous article so wont go into it again here, but how the hell do you call this fight???? It really is a matter of anything can happen at any time and most likely will. Myself, ive always considered my own judgements pretty good in predicting outcomes, but this has got me sitting on the fence like no other fight I can recall in a long time. In fact im not even going to be rooting for one or the other! I’m just gonna be happy to sit and watch and see what happens.
B) You can bet your life this is gonna be a slug-fest and boxing fans love nothing more than a life or death war in this division! Deontay Wilder only knows how to attack. That’s all he has done in his career so far. And that’s attack with a capital A! You got to love the guy for that. He brings excitement and a raw, wild approach to the game that is undeniably attractive. Stiverne has been both an attacker and a counter-puncher in his career. If he adopts a counter-punching style here it will be very dangerous for him. But I don’t see it – in fact im willing to bet my last dollar that he will come out on the offensive in this fight. I simply cannot see him adopting the same strategy as he did against Arreola as im convinced he must realize that this will be a big mistake against this guy who loves nothing better than to tee off on people lying against the ropes. Therefore I expect him to come out as the aggressor, and if he does, then wilder will have no choice but to fire back straight away. Therefore a slug-fest is practically guaranteed here. I remember when it was announced that Perez was fighting Abdusalamov and I thought to myself ‘phew – this is going to be a war’ – I was right about that (too right sadly) – I’m getting the same feelings for this one. And don’t know about you guys out there, but im excited!
So who’s going to win this heavyweight war folks….? We will soon find out! This is gonna be a monster of a fight mark my words (while it lasts!) Fights like this are so great for this most noble and honourable of sports, and I have nothing but total respect for both men who are getting ready to partake. This is why we all love boxing!!!!
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