Lucas Browne eager to get Deontay Wilder in the ring

By Boxing News - 06/25/2015 - Comments

MDR-160612-Browne-v-Rasani-19By Scott Gilfoid: After seeing WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder’s recent interview in which he took some shots at him in questioning his confidence in the ring, #6 WBC Lucas Browne (22-0, 18 KOs) says he’d be very interested in facing the 6’7” Wilder in his next fight. Wilder says he’ll be back in the ring in September, and he’s yet to say who his next opponent will be.

It’ll be another voluntary defense for Wilder, as he’ll be facing his #1 WBA mandatory challenger Alexander Povetkin in early 2016. It’s important that Deontay face an opponent around the same size with a similar fighting style as Povetkin.

I’m not sure that the burly Browne is similar enough to Povetkin for him to be worthwhile for the talented Deontay.

Wilder would do well to face Browne because he has the perfect style for Wilder to absolutely shine. It would be as awkward as Wilder’s last fight against Eric Molina, because Browne is the type of fighter that Wilder loves to mix it up with. Wilder likes the guys that come straight at him looking to slug, which is what Browne does all the time.

The 6’4” Browne is like a slightly taller version of Bermane Stiverne. Although Browne is listed at 6’4”, I think he’s closer to 6’2” rather than 6’4”. I’d be surprised if that’s his actual height. Never the less, Wilder will have a considerable height and reach advantage over Browne, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he can win the fight with his jab and newly developed left hook.

“I’m happy to fight Deontay Wilder anywhere in the world,” Browne said in a press release. “It’s a fight that would be explosive and that is what fight fans want to see in heavyweight boxing. Wilder said I might be his next opponent. Well it would be an honor to challenge for the heavyweight championship of the world. We can give the fans what they want to see… An explosive fight!”

Browne has had some problems in the past in dealing with heavyweights like Andriy Rudenko and Eric Martel Bahoeli. I don’t know that Browne is ready to face an advanced heavyweight with the ability, power, size and athleticism that Wilder possesses. I mean, Browne could end up like Sergey Liakhovich, a fighter that Wilder destroyed in one round two years ago in 2013. Browne has the same plodding style of fighting as Liakhovich, and Wilder would have an easy time finding him with straight right hands down the pipe.

Browne recently beat Chauncy Welliver by a 5th round stoppage last year in November. For some reason, Browne has just been sitting and doing nothing all this time in terms of fighting. It appears that he’s just waiting for a title shot against WBA heavyweight champion Ruslan Chagaev. Browne is ranked #3 by the WBA. If Browne is just going to sit and wait on a fight against Chagaev, then I think that’s a major mistake because Chagaev could sit on his strap for a long time. In the past, Chagaev has gone long periods between title defenses.



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