Deontay Wilder: Fighter or Fraudster, and a look at Jennings, Szpilka and Fury.

By Olly Campbell - 01/23/2014 - Comments

deontay899By Olly Campbell: They say that variety is the spice of life, so in keeping with a few of the comment thread suggestions, I’m today going to turn my focus away from British fights/fighters, and write about a subject from across the pond. I enjoy debate and controversy, so needed someone that I believed could get my fellow fans talking.

Now, much like his rival Tyson Fury, the name Deontay Wilder only need be mentioned to spew forth a plethora of comments, some hyping, some hating. With all of my articles I try to state the facts, pepper them with a little opinion and let my fellow fans draw their own conclusions. I have also been asked a couple of questions regarding Wilder and both British and American heavyweight talent, so as we progress, I shall do my best to nail everything.
So, firstly; What do ewe know?

Alabama’s Deontay Wilder was something of a late starter in terms of his boxing career. It is widely reported he felt pushed in that direction, following on from different sporting ambitions, due to the birth of his first child; a girl, born with the debilitating spina bifida.

The young Deontay appeared to take to boxing like the proverbial duck to water, an array of standout amateur highlights culminating in a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. This victory inspiring his pro nickname, The Bronze Bomber.

Quickly notching up a series of knockout victories upon turning pro, people could call him lots of things but inactive wasn’t one of them. GBP’s Richard Schaefer perhaps Wilder’s head cheerleader has ensured that he has continued to stay busy as of late. Yet here is where the critics come in, and deservedly so.

If you scratch beneath the surface of what on paper is an impressive resume of 30 knock out wins, you can slowly uncover the fact, name by name, that Deontay Wilder just simply hasn’t fought a single noteworthy fighter. Never before has the phrase padded record seemed more apt. You can knock out guys left and right, but when your most high profile opponent is Audley Harrison, British boxings biggest joke, then its time to stop believing your own hype and step up.

Now, currently, the noise coming from Wilder and Schaefer is that Tyson Fury has been offered the Wilder fight and turned it down/ignored the request. Obviously Britain’s heavyweight big mouth disputes this and has made all his usual noises and disparaging remarks in the direction of camp Wilder.

I’ve said before that Fury/Wilder is my buzz match for 2014 as in terms of their records, things are quite similar. Not facing Haye means Fury too hasn’t REALLY fought anybody of note either, though I must concede that even faded versions of both Johnson and Cunningham are better than any of Deontay’s in ring victims. The fight between them would be interesting for a few reasons in my opinion, because as much as I like Tyson Fury, like Wilder he has massive flaws in his game. However, with a fighter of almost equal size, Fury won’t be vulnerable to big looping overhand rights vs Wilder like he has been often in his career. There are also question marks over Tyson’s chin, and if Wilder is naturally gifted in any department, its power. Yet as I said, Wilder has gaping holes in his game too, that for me would make this anybody’s fight. We’ve all seen Wilder swinging like a windmill, charging in on fighters. He does it time and again. With an operator of higher quality, like Fury, he is wide open to a counter on his unprotected chin. And let’s be fair here. Wilder DOES have a questionable chin, a quick YouTube search confirms that. An amateur KO vs a much smaller fighter and David Haye wobbling him badly in a sparring session prove as much. Deontay, like Fury is not the finished article.

Despite it all I think Fury/Wilder is a pretty fair fight and in any otherwise even contest, conditioning and stamina are often the difference maker. Fury is no lean, mean fighting machine, but in 21 fights he’s gone twelve rounds twice and heard the bell for the 8th on at least four other occasions. He’s boxed a total of 112 rounds over his career with a 72% KO ratio. Wilder has never been past four rounds and despite finishing every fight only has less than half the ring experience of Fury in 53 rounds. I’m gonna reserve judgement on this for now, in the interests of non-bias and have a quick look at another fight I’ve been asked my opinion on, the winner of which could very well collide with the likes of Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder or Dereck Chisora.

It’s the US rising star Bryant Jennings vs the tough fellow undefeated Pole, Artur Szpilka. Both of these guys have the potential to go some way in the heavyweight division. Let me start by saying that, with almost equal records of 17-0 for Jennings and 16-0 for Szpilka, this contest at MSG this coming weekend has the .potential to be very exciting. I will say that both guys are relatively unheard of to most but the hardest fans here in the UK, but both should be on the radars of the Furys, Wilders and Chisoras, as in my opinion, Szpilka already, has mixed with some very experienced, if slightly past it opposition. Both guys are a lot smaller than Wilder and Fury, though unlike those two, Jennings is the slicker. The first time he came to my attention was a 12 round UD victory over Steven Collins for the USBA heavyweight strap back in June of 2012. Whilst it was a reasonably impressive performance, with Jennings winning almost everything, I really thought he should have got Collins out of there in the last 3rd of the ten rounder. However, it was a rounds building fight and valuable experience was gained. He has been flawless since.

Now, I may be crucified for this, but something is making me lean slightly towards the Pole, Szpilka. He doesn’t quite have the speed or boxing skill of Jennings but he does have more power, and for me has 100% mixed it at the higher level, albeit with fighters a bit past their prime. He beat Mike Mollo, twice, who’d been in with Golota, and he beat a very experienced Jameel McCline who had been in with the likes of Arreola, John Ruiz and the ponderous and world weary valuev, who still like the previous two, mixed at top level. For such a reasonably inexperienced fighter, I think such experience is invaluable.

However, I know that Bryant Jennings, along with the likes of Terence Crawford, is highly thought of in some circles so it will be a very intriguing fight. Sometimes, as is the case with Wilder and Fury, the best fighters don’t always automatically get the most exposure. Often, the boxing press likes the big guys and at their towering heights, I still insist that Wilder v Fury is my main match up. But with Jennings, Szpilka, Price, Helenius, Perez, Chisora, Arreola and Stiverne all on the scene, amongst others, plently of matches can be made!!

Thanks as always. Suggestions welcome. Ollygothroxxx@gmail.com, Facebook Olly.Campbell.666……

Until next time.



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