By Sean Jones: Deontay Wilder is once again talking about killing Bermane Stiverne inside the ring this Saturday night. Wilder says Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) started it when he said he was going to kill him, so now he’s playing by the same rules by going out to try and kill him in their fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
(Photo credit Amanda Westcott /SHOWTIME)
Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) says the two of them are going to have a “killing spree” when they get in the ring in televised fight on Showtime Boxing.
Wilder is usually a little more calm in lead up to his fights. He talks a little trash here and here, but he doesn’t threaten his opponent’s life. This time Wilder has taken a dark and sinister approach to the Stiverne fight, and all we can hope for is the referee keeps a close eye on the action so that no one gets seriously hurt. Boxing is supposed to be a sport. Wilder has gone over the deep end it seems.
“Stiverne is done; this is a death sentence for Stiverne. Ya’ll think I’m playing when I say this. I don’t play around,” said Wilder to Fighthub. ”His brother [sat] there and cried after the fight, after I whooped him. Now they going to cry again while they bury him.”
All this talk of death seems to have left Stiverne looking a little uneasy at Friday’s weigh-in. Stiverne did not look like he was up for the faceoff with Wilder. Stiverne didn’t seem to have his heart into the job. For his part, Wilder looked like he was ready to tear Stiverne apart right then and there on the stage in front of the boxing media and fans that had come to see the two fighters weigh-in.
Stiverne weighed in a very heavy 254 pounds. Wilder weighed in 34 pounds lighter at 220 lbs. Stiverne has the size on Wilder. Maybe that’ll help Stiverne took Wilder’s best shots long enough to land one of his own big punches.
Wilder confirmed in the interview that he WILL be retiring from boxing if he loses to Siverne. Wilder says he’s serious about retiring. He’ll walk away from the sport if he gets beaten. It sounds crazy though. Wilder can make a lot of money if he continues his career. He would only have 1 defeat on his resume, and that’s not a big deal for the heavyweight division, which has only a small number of good fighters. If Wilder is going to threaten retirement with every fight he takes, he might not have too much time left before he hangs up his gloves.
“Like I said, quote me; if he beats me I will retire,” said Wilder.
With the way Stiverne punches, it’s not too far-fetched to see Wilder potentially getting knocked out on Saturday. If Stiverne lands one of his big shots right on Wilder’s chin, he could end up being knocked out. Stiverne has the kind of power that could knock out anyone in the heavyweight division. Wilder doesn’t need to jump to any hasty decisions and retire from boxing if he loses.
Wilder would just need to dust himself off, and get back to the drawing board to learn from the loss. Retiring would be a drastic move on Wilder’s part. He doesn’t need to go that far. The same applies to Stiverne. If he loses to Wilder, he doesn’t mean he needs to retire. Stiverne is still a very good heavyweight capable of beating a lot of the top guys in the division. It wouldn’t hurt though if Stiverne got his weight down a little, and stayed busier with his boxing career. Stiverne isn’t giving himself the best chance to win with him staying out of the ring for 2 years.
”All you going to do is sit there and be a punching bag. Each and every time I wail on you, that’s your life,” said Wilder about Stiverne.
