By Jim Dower: Deontay Wilder sent out a warning on Thursday saying he plans on taking out his frustrations on Bermane Stiverne in their fight on November 4. Wilder is upset at Luis Ortiz testing positive for a banned drug during the recent pre-fight screening.
The World Boxing Council made the decision not to let Wilder defend his title against Ortiz on November 4, as previously scheduled. That’s the fight that Wilder wanted, and he paid Stiverne to step aside. Ortiz is now out of the fight, and Stiverne is going to be facing Wilder.
Wilder and Stiverne will be fighting each other in a rematch on November 4 on Showtime Championship Boxing at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Wilder is trying to see the opponent change in a positive light. He says he would have had to fight Stiverne anyway. He now can get the fight over with sooner instead of having to wait until after the fight with Ortiz. Stiverne is Wilder’s mandatory challenger. He must take that fight now.
“Stiverne asked for it, so he’s going to get it,” Wilder said. “Whatever happens happens. Ask and you shall receive.”
Wilder beat Stiverne by a 12 round unanimous decision 2 years ago in 2015. That’s how Wilder won the WBC title he’s in possession of today. Wilder has defended the WBC belt 5 times successfully. Stiverne will be his 6th defense.
“I’m relieved to be getting my mandatory out of the way. At least now I won’t have to deal with that down the road,” said Wilder
Wilder broke his right hand in beating Stiverne in 2015. The injury occurred in round 3. Wilder still used his right hand to throw power shots, but he used it for sledgehammer chopping shots with the back of his hand rather than with the knuckle part of his gloves. It still worked for Wilder. He just wasn’t able to KO Stiverne.
It’s good for Wilder to face Stiverne. Wilder was supposed to defend his WBC title against Alexander Povetkin last year, but he tested positive for a banned drug and that wiped the fight out. Wilder ended up fighting Gerald Washington instead last February.
For Wilder to hold onto his WBC title, he’s going to need to be Stiverne and then IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua next year. That’s a fight that Wilder and Joshua have been talking about quite a while. If Wilder beats both of those fighters, then he could eventually make another mandatory defense in a year or two.
“In the first fight, I broke my hand in the third round, and I still dominated. That was a lot of the reason why it went the distance,” said Wilder.
Stiverne came close many times to land his big left hook and right hands. Stiverne was swinging for the fences with everh punch he threw. Wilder was able to take the big shots that Stiverne landed from time to time. Wilder was very confident in the Stiverne fight, as he taunted him for the entire fight. It takes a lot of courage for Stiverne to come back and fight Wilder a second time.
“This time it’s a different day, different time and different fight. This time it won’t end well for him,” said Wilder.
Wilder is going to need to be careful against Stiverne. If Wilder gets hit solid with one of his right hands or let hooks, he could get knocked out.