The clock has been ticking for quite some time since we have been able to get behind a legitimate American Heavyweight Champion. Deontay Wilder currently holds the WBC Heavyweight Title but has had just one successful title defense against journeyman Eric Molina, last month in his home state of Alabama. With a record of 34-0 (33 KO’s), Wilder, the “Bronze Bomber” was an Olympian and bronze medalist in the Beijing Olympic Games. His most notable victory to date was against Bermane Stiverne when he won the title last January in Las Vegas.
Although the fight with Stiverne showed off his boxing skills and proved he could go 12 rounds, Wilder remains unproven. Subsequently, many fans, including myself are still skeptical (although hopeful) of the 6’7 WBC champion, who is our most hopeful heavyweight in quite some time.
For Wilder to become truly relevant, he needs to beat the most recognized fighter out there in reigning Heavyweight Champion Wladimir Klitschko, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight titles; he was also a gold medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. Klitschko has had a piece of the Heavyweight Championship alphabet since 2006, when he beat undersized American heavyweight Chris Byrd.
That said, Wilder is not undersized, and he brings some power behind his punches. He proved in his fight against Molina and Stiverne that he can take a punch and recover; however, whether he can do so against a true, powerful top ranked heavyweight remains to be seen. He has reportedly sparred with Klitschko in recent past (bad call), but whether he is at the level for a prize fight against the reigning Ukranian Heavyweight Champion is doubtful to most.
The jury will remain out there until Wilder fights and dominates a couple other top ranked fighters to the likes of Tyson Fury, Alexander Povetkin, or fellow American Bryant Jennings. Jennings is a decent option given he just went the distance with Klitschko in April, although he lost a lopsided decision. Wilder will likely be fighting his mandatory defense against Russian Alexander Povetkin later this year which will be a good test. According to the LA Times, he may try and get another fight in before then against Ukrainian Vyacheslav Glazkov who is currently undefeated and ranked in the top ten Heavyweights by ESPN.
What are your thoughts? Do we have a legitimate champion in Wilder, or is he just another hyped up american heavyweight? He has obvious physical gifts and size, and definitely looks the part, but can he play the part? There are still many questions and skepticism; I say he wins his next two mandatory fights, and hopefully we can truly decide after a 2016 fight against Klitschko.