By Scott Gilfoid: Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32 KOs) could set himself up for a nice payday fight against IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 or 2016 if Deontay beats WBC heavyweight title holder Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs) in their highly anticipated fight on Showtime on January 17th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Deontay, with his long reach, fast hands and huge right hand power, matches up really well with the 6’6” Klitschko, and he could very well take the Ukrainian fighter out. It wouldn’t matter that Deontay doesn’t have the same kind of experience or two-fisted power that Wladimir has.
If Deontay lands his right hand flush on the chin of Wladimir, it’ll likely be all over for him as the champion. The late South African Corrie Sanders wiped out Wladimir in just two rounds back in 2013, and Sanders didn’t have the same kind of hand speed that Deontay possesses. Of course, Sanders had an advantage over Wladimir given that he was a southpaw, and he appeared to be underestimated by him.
Stiverne could be a real tough test for Deontay though. While Stiverne is short and on the old side at 36, he seems to have a good chin and he’s a powerful puncher. Deontay will need to make sure he ties Stiverne up immediately after he throws his right hands, because Stiverne will be looking to counter him with his own power shots immediately.
Deontay, 6’7”, has the size and the reach to control Stiverne with his jab alone. However, Deontay still hasn’t shown the ability to use his jab to dominate his shorter opponents for some reason. Either he hasn’t had the desire to use his jabs, or it’s a training issue. Either way, Deontay is going to need to use his jab against Stiverne if he wants to avoid getting hit a lot.
Just throwing right hands and left hooks may not be enough if he can’t get Stiverne out of there early on. If Stiverne shows the ability to take Deontay’s right hands during the first six rounds, then Deontay is going to need to fall back on a plan-B to box Stiverne in the middle rounds. Deontay’s jab would enable him to set up his right hand later in the fight to try and finish Stiverne off.
The last thing that Deontay needs is to be trading shots with Stiverne, because the Haitian fighter has taken a lot of punishment in some of his fights, and he’s used to getting hit a lot. Deontay hasn’t become accustomed to getting nailed by his opponents, because he’s been knocking them out so quickly. For this reason, Deontay needs to keep the fight at long range to stay out of the way of Stiverne’s best punches.
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