By Scott Gilfoid: Ronnie Shields, the trainer for #8 WBC Artur “Szpila the pin” Szpilka (20-1, 15 KOs), says they have a specific plan that they’ll be using this Saturday that he believes will lead to a victory for Szpilka over WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (35-0, 34 KOs) in their fight on Showtime from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Shields isn’t saying what that plan is, as he wants to keep it a secret for the fight. However, it’s very likely going to be something that involves pressuring Wilder the entire fight, because that’s the only thing that seems to have had any kind of effectiveness in that past by his opponents.
Obviously, pressuring isn’t completely effective against Deontay, because if it was he would have been beaten by now. But that’s pretty much the only thing that Szpilka can do to have a chance of pulling an upset in this fight. Szpilka’s game is built around applying pressure on his opponents, and he’s not going to be able to change his style after all this time just as he is faced with the biggest fight of his career.
“Whatever he [Deontay] does, we have to do it better, and Artur Szpilka is prepared for that,” Shields said to garneksports. “[Deontay is] a guy who had very limited amateur experience, but he uses his athleticism to win fights. If you take that away, that’s where out advantages comes in. We’re going to be smart inside the ring. We know what we have to do. We just have to go out and execute. Both guys have a strong punch. Deontay is going to be just as leery as Artur Szpilka when it comes to how he’s going to throw punches. We have a plan. If Deontay was so unbeatable, nobody would want to fight him. If he was so unbeatable, he would be heavyweight champ for as long as he wants to be.”
It’s difficult to imagine Szpilka being able to punch as well as the 6’7″ Deontay, and fight with the same type of aggression. Deontay will surely be staying on the outside in this fight focusing on nailing Szpilka with big right hands. The southpaw Szpilka is a fighter who needs to get in medium to close range to land his big power shots. He’s not good at staying at the distance and throwing long left hand shots.
It's almost that time…. #4days #WilderSzpilka pic.twitter.com/4Vu3Yv3ux6
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) January 12, 2016
Deontay, 6’7″, will definitely have a decided ad advantage in this fight when he has Szpilka on the outside. The only thing that Szpilka can do is to try and apply pressure and hope that he can nail Deontay with something big before he has the chance to get away from him. The thing is, Deontay is one of those fighters who unloads with a flurry of shots when he gets hit hard. He has the better hand speed, punching power and athleticism. I wouldn’t be surprised if Deontay takes Szpilka out with a flurry of shots if Szpilka hits him with something big enough to get his attention.
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