By Jason Kim: Unbeaten former 2008 Olympic heavyweight Bronze Medalist Deontay Wilder (14-0, 14 KO’s) will be looking to keep his perfect knockout streak alive on February 19th when he faces a still to be named opponent in a scheduled six round bout at the Shelton State Community College, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Wilder, 6’7″ 220, is a raw project with incredible right hand punching power but not much else.
He’s got to learn how to use his left hand, and needs to develop his foot work and defensive skills before his handlers will be putting him in with anyone halfway decent. Although the 25-year-old Wilder did remarkably well for a fighter in the Olympics with only 21 fights under his belt, he’s still has a long ways to go before he’s ready for the likes of the Klitschko brothers. In all seriousness, the Klitschko brothers will almost surely be long gone by the time that Wilder is ready to cut his teeth on top tier heavyweight competition.
Right now, Wilder has got too many flaws right now to be put in with a heavyweight that actually has skills and knows how to fight. What Wilder has going for him is his right hand. He’s got incredible power with his right, and it’s allowed him to stop 11 of his 14 opponents in the 1st round alone. That’s not just a statistic because of the poor opposition he’s facing. He’s got genuine one-punch knockout power. Wilder’s problems are that his left hand is almost useless, as he has no strength in it at all, and he needs to gain a lot of weight. At 6’7″ 220, Wilder looks like a tall string bean, and he’s going to get roughed up unless he puts on weight in the future.
Wilder is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, and they obviously realize he’s a long term project that they’ll have to wait on to find out if he’ll ever strike gold at the pro level.
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