By Scott Gilfoid: With a little help from Tyson Fury, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) expects to unify the division in 2016 to hold down 3 of the 4 heavyweight titles. Wilder wants Fury after he is done with Artur Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs) on January 16th, in their fight on Showtime Boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
If Wilder can get the Fury fight later this year, then the only title not in his grasp will be the IBF title that was recently stripped from Fury by the IBF organization. Charles Martin and Vyacheslav Glazkov will fight for the IBF title on 1/16 on the undercard of Wilder-Szpilka.
Szpilka is a good fighter, but he is likely going to be little more than a speed bump for Deontay to run over as he heads towards bigger fights against Alexander Povetkin and Tyson Fury in 2016. Szpilka will obviously be looking to ruin Deontay’s dream of unifying the heavyweight world titles, but it is not probable that Spilka will be able to do much to prevent Deontay from getting the bigger fights.
“I’m looking forward to the world embracing me, and to continue being the heavyweight champ of the world, soon to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world,” Deontay said. “2016 belongs to Deontay Wilder, where he will unify the division. There has not been one since 1999. That was Lennox Lewis. Now I must make history. I can’t let any man get in my way from that.”
This year will be a HUGE for Deontay. It’s a year that will identify whether Deontay has the talent or not to become a superstar or not. If he can whip Szpilka, Povetkin and Fury in 2016, Wilder will be on his way to becoming a pay-per-view attraction for Showtime. However, if Wilder loses to any of those fighters, then he will be sent tumbling back into the contender ranks where he will need to scratch and claw to try to get back to the top once again.
As popular as the talented 6’7” Wilder is as a fighter, I can see him getting a quick world shot against one of the world champions. Nevertheless, if he cannot even beat the likes of Szpilka, Povetkin or Fury, then how far can Wilder go even if he does receive a second chance? Fortunately, Wilder is loaded with marvelous talent and he would be a favorite in fights against Povetkin and Fury in my view. Wilder is already the favorite to defeat the 26-year-old Szpilka on January 16, so it’s not an even issue for him to do a number on this opponent.
“I can’t wait to show you everything that I have to offer. Just as I developing my skill, I develop everything I’ve learned over the years, and apply them in the ring,” Wilder said.
Haters are like my new custom Lambo.. I wouldn't have one if I wasn't successful. S/O to all my haters!! #WilderLife pic.twitter.com/OgceCrCeMg
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) January 8, 2016
Deontay, 30, will get the opportunity to show the boxing world all he can offer in 2016. Whether it’s enough for him to win all of his fights this year is another question. It’s doubtful that Wilder will be able to display all the tools in his toolbox in his upcoming fight against the Polish fighter Szpilka on 1/16, because I expect him to fold up almost immediately once Wilder starts throwing hard leather.
Szpilka talks a lot, but he doesn’t have the talent to back up his bold talk. Szpilka has already been exposed in the past when he’s stepped it up a level and was found wanting against Bryant Jennings. Szpilka does well against 2nd tier fodder, but his limitations were brought out to the ligh when he fought Jennings. Szpilka was stopped in the 10th round of that fight. It was pure domination by Jennings.
“We’re going to find out who is who on January 16,” Szpilka said. “They [Szpilka’s Polish fans] will be like additional gloves in the ring for me. They’re going to carry me to be a winner, to be a champion, something special. I’m going to fight also for them.”
So what Szpilka is basically saying is that he’s going to feed off the crowd and attack Wilder off of adrenaline. That might be a good thing for Szpilka to do that because I can see this backfiring on him with Wilder, the much harder puncher, taking advantage of his aggressiveness.
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